Contents

Title Page
A Note From the Author
Chapter 1 (Sophia)
Chapter 2 (Sophia)
Chapter 3 (Sebastian)
Chapter 4 (Sebastian)
Chapter 5 (Sophia)
Chapter 6 (Sophia)
Chapter 7 (Sophia)
Chapter 8 (Sophia)
Chapter 9 (Sebastian)
Chapter 10 (Sebastian)
Chapter 11 (Sophia)
Chapter 12 (Sophia)
Chapter 13 (Sebastian)

Chapter 14 (Sebastian)
Epilogue (Sophia)
A Little Bonus
About the Author

Unlocked
(The Alpha Group Trilogy
#3)
By Maya Cross
Copyright 2013 by Maya Cross
All rights reserved. This book or any portion
thereof may not be reproduced or used in any
manner whatsoever without the express written
permission of the publisher except for the use
of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real
people, places, or events are entirely

coincidental.

A Note From The Author

I just wanted to give you all a little
advanced warning that, while the first
two books were purely from Sophia's
perspective, Unlocked moves between
both Sophia and Sebastian. It was
something I wanted to do earlier, but I
couldn't make it work without giving
away too much. I hope you enjoy being
in Sebastian's head as much as I did!

CHAPTER ONE
Sophia
The first thing that I remembered
was that I was cold. Everything was still
black and my body wouldn't respond, but
I shivered nonetheless. Then, gradually,
things began to swim into focus, as
though I were floating upwards from the
darkest depths of the sea.
I coughed. Then again. And then
sucked in several great breaths. One by
one, I could feel muscles spark back to
life. They were like dead weights,

attached to my body, but at least I could

move.
It took a few minutes for my mind
to drag itself out of neutral. My first
thought was that my lunch with Ruth must
have turned into the bender to end all
benders. It had happened before, and the
cotton wool sensation in my head was at
least a little reminiscent of my nastier
hangovers. But then I remembered the
following morning. My walk through
Newtown. My newfound resolve to start
getting things back on track.
The broken back door.
The stabbing pain in my neck.
The strong hands catching me as I
fell towards the floor.
Oh Jesus. Oh fuck. What the fuck

had happened? Where was I? And how

long had I been out?
I flung myself into a sitting
position, a move I instantly regretted as
it sent a powerful coil of nausea twisting
through my stomach. Right, then. No fast
movements.
Drawing a few calming breaths, I
steadied myself and surveyed my
surroundings. At first glance, the room
around me appeared fairly ordinary.
Sparsely furnished, with just a bed,
table, and bookshelf, the cream coloured
walls and smooth wooden floor boards
made it feel a lot like the guest bedroom
in my parents' house. However it didn't
take long for the differences to become

apparent. Firstly, there were no

windows, just a small space above the
bed that looked to have been painted
more recently than the rest. Similarly,
the door looked somehow out of place; a
giant slab of thick timber with a heavy
iron lock.
Battling a bout of vertigo, I
dragged myself to my feet and stumbled
over to it. I knew what I'd find, but my
chest still tightened when the handle
refused to budge. The room may not
have looked like a traditional prison
cell, but it would hold me just as
effectively.
This time, the nausea came on
more strongly. It clawed at my insides
like a wild animal. I tasted bile, sharp

and hot, at the back of my throat.

Somehow I managed to stagger to the
corner of the room before my stomach
emptied itself on the floor.
When it was over, I dragged
myself back to the bed and curled into a
ball. I knew I should try and approach
the situation logically, but all I could
focus on was the terror that was running
like ice water through my veins. How
could I possibly react rationally in the
face of something like this? I'd been
kidnapped from my house by unknown
assailants, shot full of God knows what,
and was now being held prisoner, for
reasons I didn't understand. It was
straight out of a horror movie.

Even through the haze in my mind,

I knew that this had something to do with
Sebastian. It was the only explanation
that made sense. The fear I'd seen in that
final letter told me all I needed to know.
Whatever he was involved in was
extremely dangerous, and now I was in
the thick of it. And I had no idea why.
Take a deep breath, Sophia.
Crying isn't going to do you any good.
I started with what I knew. They
hadn't killed me outright. As horrifying
as it was to consider, they could easily
have done so. That meant they wanted
something. Was someone trying to extort
Sebastian? He certainly had the wealth
for it. If that were the case, they'd

probably already told him they had me.

The ball was in his court. Would he do
what they asked? It pained me to admit,
but I didn't know. I had no doubt that he
loved me, but the stakes were obviously
much higher than I'd imagined. Perhaps
they were too high.
Of course, extortion was probably
the best case scenario. There were much
darker possibilities. If Sebastian's
secrets were as large as they seemed, it
made sense that he'd have enemies,
enemies who may be under the
impression I knew something important.
I suspected that if that were the case,
they wouldn't be gentle about extracting
the truth. My mind filled with terrifying
visions; knives and saws and long iron

pokers, heated to a glowing red.

Deep down I knew there was a
third possibility too. Maybe my
kidnappers weren't strangers at all. No
matter how I approached it, I couldn't
see Sebastian having anything to do with
this, but I couldn't say the same for his
colleagues. We hadn't exactly kept our
discussion in his building private. I
knew Thomas had overheard and it
certainly wasn't unreasonable to think
that others might have as well. I had
almost no idea what went on at Fraiser,
a few scraps at best, but perhaps it was
enough to make them feel threatened.
And if that were the case, my gut told me
that they wouldn't hesitate to do anything

to rectify the problem.

I tried to convince myself that
Sebastian was just moments away from
tearing down the door and riding in on
his white horse, but the truth was he had
no way of knowing what had happened.
He'd been very clear that all our ties
were severed. Even if my captors had
told him they had me, they wouldn't have
been stupid enough to give away their
location. For now, I was on my own.
Gradually, whatever they'd shot
into me seemed to wear off and I began
to feel more human. My mind ran in a
constant circle, my body surging with
some powerful combination of fear and
anger. I paced the room, testing the lock
over and over, searching for breaks in

the plaster, anything that might hint at

some chance of escape. I knew that it
was all but impossible this wasn't
some hasty, spur of the moment snatch
and grab but I couldn't simply sit
there and wait for what came next. It felt
too much like admitting defeat.
I had no idea how much time
passed. It's funny how quickly you lose
sense of the hours in a room with no
clocks or natural light. Eventually
though, during one of my circuits of the
far wall, there was a rattling at the door.
Steeling myself, I took a few steps
towards it and poised there. I wasn't
sure what was coming, but I wanted to
be ready, should an opportunity present

itself.
The door flew open and a burly
looking man in a suit walked through. He
had dark olive skin, darker than
Sebastian's, and heavy black curls that
were cropped close to his head. He was
carrying a tray with a sandwich and a
glass of juice resting on it.
"Dinner," he said. He spoke with a
sharp accent; Russian maybe, or Middle
Eastern.
I had no doubt he wasn't the only
one on guard duty, and judging by the
easy confidence with which he moved,
he wasn't particularly concerned about
me escaping. But as he walked closer, I
caught a glimpse of the open door behind
him and all my survival instincts kicked

in.
"Thank you," I replied, amazed by
how little my voice was shaking. I
reached calmly for the orange juice and
began raising it to my lips, then with a
flick of my wrist I tossed the liquid into
his face and darted for the door.
In my head, it worked flawlessly. I
saw him collapse to the floor as the
citric acid set his eyes burning. I saw
myself finding the guard outside sleeping
on his chair and, after stealing his gun
and handcuffing him in place, making a
daring escape. Unfortunately we weren't
in a movie. This was real life.
Instead of falling, my captor let out
a short hiss, and one hand flew up to his

eyes, but he was obviously well trained

because despite his temporary blindness,
he moved to block my path. In
retrospect, it was a pretty stupid plan;
there was only one place I could go and
he knew it. But desperation is a
powerful emotion and I only had two
words running through my head at that
moment. Get away.
I ploughed right into him. He must
have weighed at least double what I did,
but that didn't stop me from trying to
fight. I let loose with everything I had,
pounding his chest, his stomach, his
neck. I landed a few good blows, but
they barely seemed to register. It was
like punching a mattress. The heavy
muscle that coated his body absorbed

everything. I shifted my focus, trying to

strike him between the legs, but by that
time his eyes were open once more and
he blocked my attacks with ease, seizing
my arms and pinning them together with
one giant, meaty hand.
"Nice try," he said with a smirk.
"Now, my turn." And then with almost
derisive casualness, he flicked back his
arm and struck my face with a colossal
backhand. I spun through the air, my
vision flaring white as I slammed into
the floor. The impact knocked all the
breath from my lungs.
"Eat," he said. "The boss wants to
talk to you, but it may be a while." He
glanced down at the now empty cup. "I

guess you're going thirsty until then."

And with another smirk, he pulled
the door closed behind him.
I crawled over to the wall and
propped myself up against it. My whole
head was ringing, and my cheek felt like
it were on fire. It would be a lovely
shade of purple in a few hours. Great
plan, Sophia. Just beat up Mr Universe
over there and make a breezy escape.
That'll work a treat.
I knew I should probably eat, but
just glancing at the sandwich made my
stomach turn. How could I think about
food at a time like this?
I desperately wanted to retain my
composure, but that encounter had really
driven home the hopelessness of the

situation. I began to cry; fat, salty,

desperate tears that flowed like a river
down my face. I was utterly helpless.
Escape was not an option. Whatever
they wanted from me, they were going to
take. The only question was how they
would go about it.

*****

Somehow, I managed to fall

asleep. I don't know if it was the
lingering effect of the drugs, or my
body's way of trying to cope with the
situation, but the next thing I remember is

waking up to some sort of commotion in

the hall outside.
I had no idea what it meant; the
walls were thick and the sounds
indistinct, but at this point, I assumed
that any activity was probably bad. It
signalled that we were progressing on to
whatever happened next. I desperately
wanted to hide, but there was nowhere
to go. My chest felt impossibly heavy,
and my heartbeat was like gunfire in my
ears.
There was a brief lull, but after
about thirty seconds of silence the lock
jangled once more. I braced myself. The
door flew open...
... and in stormed Sebastian, a
sleek black pistol in his hand.

My stomach turned a cartwheel.

His face was a picture of
desperation, fear etched into every line
on his skin. Seeing him again made my
whole body ache, the wound left by his
letter tearing open inside me once more.
His eyes were wild, almost insane,
but they lit up as they fell upon me.
"Sophia," he cried, taking three quick
strides and lifting me into the fiercest
hug I'd ever experienced.
As he wrapped his body around
mine, everything surged inside me. I
finally let myself feel the full magnitude
of the situation. I found that I was crying
again. My chest shook with great
heaving sobs, incoherent thanks spilling

from my mouth. He was warm and strong

and radiated control, and I buried myself
deeper against him, as if his body could
somehow shield me from everything I
was feeling.
He took my reaction in his stride,
holding me close and stroking my hair
softly. "I know, I know. It's okay. I've got
you."
His touch was soothing. His
presence washed over me, filling me
with that primal sense of security. I
knew things were a long way from being
okay, and I still had more questions than
I knew what to do with, but at that
moment, I'd never been more relieved to
see another person in my life.
After some time, the flood finally

began to ease and I found myself able to

speak again. "Can we get out of here? I
can't be here anymore."
"Of course."
As I pulled away, he caught sight
of my face and his expression hardened.
"Did they hurt you?"
"Well they did this," I said,
gesturing to my cheek where I assumed a
bruise was blossoming, "but that was
mostly my own fault for trying to do a
runner."
"None of this is your fault,
Sophia," he said, sounding impossibly
sad.
He led me out into the hallway.
Somehow, I'd gotten into my head that

Sebastian had done this alone, James

Bond style; but, of course, that was
ridiculous. Waiting for us outside were
five hulking men, sporting earpieces and
stubby black guns. Their crisp suits and
grim expressions made them dead
ringers for my visitor from before. If I
hadn't known any better, I'd have
guessed they were on the same side.
Maybe all the world's evil
organisations shop at the same rental
agency. Rent-A-Thug.
But even my inner monologue's
attempt at wit couldn't bring a smile to
my face at that moment. Seeing them all
standing there, alert and armed to the
teeth, really drove home exactly what
kind of shit I had embroiled myself in.

They had guns, for Christ's sake. I'd

never seen a drawn gun in real life
before. Australian firearms laws are
notoriously tough, so it's just not the kind
of thing we are exposed to. But here
were five men, carrying pistols as
casually as if they were newspapers; and
judging by the way they handled them,
they were perfectly comfortable putting
them to use. I couldn't see any sign of
struggle in the hallway, but I doubted my
captors had just invited Sebastian and
company in for afternoon tea. Blood had
been spilt here somewhere. Blood that,
in a roundabout way, was on my hands. I
shook my head rapidly, trying to clear
the image. That kind of thinking would

do me no good.
Several men scouted ahead while
the rest walked with Sebastian and I to
the front door. It was dark outside, but
judging by the suburban buzz in the air, it
wasn't too late at night.
My prison turned out to be nothing
more than a large, two-story house.
Obviously some significant changes had
been made, but to the casual observer,
nothing would have stood out as strange.
There were several cars waiting
for us. Sebastian guided me into one and
followed me into the back seat, and in a
matter of seconds we were turning the
corner and pulling out into the night-time
traffic.
Safety.

With every meter we put between

us and the house, the tension in my
muscles eased just a little more. I still
felt like I might break down again at any
moment, but at least the sense of sheer
terror was subsiding. Now, I just felt
exhausted, vulnerable, and utterly utterly
confused.
Sebastian seemed to be almost
ignoring me now. He was staring out the
window, the initial relief on his face
gone, replaced by a kind of heavy
thoughtfulness. For my part, I didn't
know what I was supposed to be doing. I
was so ill-equipped to deal with the
situation. Part of me just wanted to
throw myself back into the comfort of his

embrace, but now that we were making

our escape, the questions began to come
again, piling up in my head almost faster
than I could process them.
"Where are we going?" I asked,
figuring that was as good a starting spot
as any.
He looked over at me.
"Somewhere safe."
"Safe from who?"
There was uncertainty in his eyes,
that innate defensiveness he'd spent a
lifetime fostering. "Can we not do this
now, Sophia? You've just been through
one hell of an ordeal."
"Exactly, and now I want to
understand what happened. So who the
hell were those guys?"

His jaw worked wordlessly for a

few seconds, but eventually he let out a
small sigh. "Honestly, I'm not sure."
"Seriously? No idea at all?"
He shook his head wearily. "We're
working on it."
"Then how the hell did you find
me?"
He hesitated. I could see what
looked like guilt on his face. "After I
sent you that letter... I know this looks
bad, but I was worried about you. So,"
he drew a deep breath, "I left someone
watching your place. It was just a
precaution, but thank God I did. They
saw the whole thing go down."
My eyes widened. "You mean you

expected this?"
"No. No! Of course not." He ran a
hand through his hair. He looked utterly
distraught. "Like I said, it was a 'just in
case' measure, that's all. Some of the
people we deal with...well, there's not
much they're not capable of, and things
are a little unstable at the moment. I just
wanted you to be safe."
"So why didn't your guy
intervene?"
"There were three men that took
you, and they were good - professional.
He didn't think he could stop them by
himself, so he called it in and followed,
instead."
"I see." I couldn't say I wasn't
thankful he'd had someone there, but it

was a little like handing someone a fire

extinguisher after you'd set their place
alight. Also, it drew my mind to the
elephant in the room. Last time I'd gotten
too curious, Sebastian had offered me
nothing but heartbreak, but this was
different. I was no longer merely a
spectator. My life had been put in
jeopardy. That entitled me to know a
few things.
"How about we cut to the chase
then. You may not know who they were,
but you sure as hell know who you are.
What kind of man are you, Sebastian?
And what the hell is all this?"
He gave a desperate little shake of
his head, his eyes darting towards the

unnamed guard sitting in the driver's

seat. "You know I can't answer that."
"So, what, I have to go along with
all this without any idea what's
happening to me?"
His brow furrowed. "I'm sorry."
I felt a surge of anger and I latched
onto it. I may not have been able to take
out my frustration on my captors, but I
sure as hell could lash out at Sebastian.
"Sorry? You're sorry? Are you for real?
I just got kidnapped! Do you understand
that? Sorry doesn't really cut it. Maybe
in whatever secret, corporate world you
guys play in that's normal, but in regular
person land, that's kind of a big fucking
deal."
He hung his head. "I know."

"At least give me something. What

about a motive? I mean, what would
anyone want with me? I have no idea
about whatever it is you're into. As you
just illustrated, that knowledge is clearly
not for the likes of me."
His lips tightened. "I don't know
exactly. We're trying to work that out."
I rolled my eyes. "Awesome. You
don't know who they are, or what they
want. Is there anything you do know?"
His expression hardened. "I know
that I'm not going to let it happen again."
I gave a sour little laugh. "Forgive
me if that doesn't fill me with
confidence."
"What else do you want, Sophia?

I'm sorry beyond words that this

happened, and I'm going to do everything
I can to make it right."
Tears stung the back of my eyes but
I forced them away. "How? How can
you possibly make this right? There are
people after me, Sebastian, and I'm
guessing they're not going to stop just
because you foiled them once. My life is
officially in tatters and I don't even know
why."
His mouth opened and closed but
no words came out.
"You know, I lost my job," I said,
after a few seconds of silence. My voice
sounded strangely wooden, now.
For a moment, confusion flooded
his face. "What? When?"

"A few days after I went to your

office. Jennifer finally made her move."
Surprisingly, I couldn't even muster
much anger at her. My being fired
already felt hazy, like a distant memory.
"When it happened, it felt like the end of
the world. All I could think about was
the fact that I had to start from scratch.
Now, I don't even know if I'm going to
get that opportunity."
He looked like he'd been struck. "I
promise that you will, Sophia. I'm going
to get you through this. You'll get your
life back."
"When? When will I be able to go
back home and start rebuilding? When
can I see my family? My friends?"

He glanced away and gave a little

shake of his head. "I don't know, yet."
"That's what I thought. God, it
seems like being in a relationship with
you should come with an advance
warning: may involve significant peril."
Realisation slammed into me, and I
rocked back in my seat. "Oh my God.
Sebastian. The thing with Liv... was that
like this?" I didn't know how it hadn't
occurred to me earlier. The coincidence
was impossible to ignore.
He closed his eyes and drew
several long breaths, his fingers
clenching into a fist by his face. There
was something in that gesture that was
stronger than mere anger, a kind of deep

seated mental agony. "I don't know,

exactly," he said, after a few moments.
He spoke slowly, his tone soft and
hollow. "We never arrested anyone. As
far as we know, there was no
kidnapping. It all happened in the house.
Not a day goes by where I don't wonder
about it, whether it was because of me."
His face twisted in pain. I could hear
him sucking back tears. "But this here,
what happened to you, this is definitely
my fault, and I know it's probably little
comfort to you, but I'll never forgive
myself for putting you in harm's way."
I stared at him, a torrent of
conflicting emotions raging through me.
Part of me was still furious. He had
every right to feel ashamed. After all, if

I'd never met him, none of this would

have happened. He'd pursued me,
despite knowing that there may be risks,
and I'd paid the price for that.
But I couldn't ignore the anguish in
his voice, the guilt that was etched on his
face. He meant what he said about never
forgiving himself. He would carry this
forever. It was a strange role reversal,
but suddenly I felt the urge to comfort
him. Regardless of everything that had
happened, I still hated seeing him hurt.
The connection between us still blazed
like an inferno inside me. It was like his
pain flowed out through his pores and
into mine, seeping into me.
I spent the rest of the trip gazing

out the window, watching the houses roll

by. My fear may have eased, but my
confusion was at an all-time high. I still
had no idea what I was involved in, but I
knew it had to be big.
Whatever came over the next few
days, I suspected that my life would
never be the same again.

CHAPTER TWO
Sophia
After driving for another half an
hour we wound up at a giant old manor
house, somewhere in the depths of
eastern Sydney. It looked like the sort of
place that belonged in a nineteenth
century British period drama. A long
driveway, manicured gardens, ivy
snaking over the ageing brickwork like a
network of veins. It was shielded from
the outside world by a tall, concrete
wall, with a Gothic looking wrought-

iron gate providing the only access

point.
"It's a secure location," Sebastian
told me as we pulled in, although it was
a somewhat redundant comment. One
look at the expressionless men with
automatic weapons, who were posted
around the grounds, said that this wasn't
somewhere you stumbled into uninvited.
A voice inside me wanted to know
who the hell had multi-million dollar
safe-houses just lying around for
situations like this, but when stacked
next to everything else that had
happened, it somehow seemed to make
sense. I felt a guilty little rush of
excitement. Whatever world Sebastian
had tried to keep from me, I was now

being taken into the heart of it.

I'd decided to save the rest of my
questions until we had a little more
privacy. It seemed unlikely his friends
would kidnap me, only to break down
the door and rescue me a few hours
later, but I was going to be cautious
nonetheless. I was swimming in
unfamiliar waters now. I couldn't afford
any mistakes.
Sebastian and I hadn't said another
word for the rest of the trip. There was
something strangely distant about him
now. It didn't make sense, but it almost
felt as though he were angry at me.
Surprisingly, there were about ten
people waiting for us inside, including

several faces I recognised. Thomas and

Trey both approached as I entered.
"What's with the welcoming party,
guys?" I joked, bemused by their
presence.
Thomas flashed a quick grin.
"Someone called ahead. Said they'd got
you. I'm glad you're okay."
"Yeah, you gave us one hell of a
scare," said Trey.
"Well, thanks," I replied.
The two men shuffled awkwardly
in place, their eyes darting to the floor.
There was a strange tension in the air,
and it didn't take a genius to figure out
why. Whatever Sebastian's secret, the
whole room was clearly in on it, and at
that point it had to be obvious to

everyone that I knew more than I was

supposed to. I'd seen too much to still be
in the dark.
Thomas and Trey appeared to be
taking it in their strides, but not everyone
looked so happy to see us. Several more
of Sebastian's colleagues, including
Ewan, were standing in a nearby
doorway, assessing him with dark
expressions.
"What's the deal with them?" I
asked.
Thomas glanced over and
grimaced. "Eh, just office politics. Don't
worry about it."
Before I could delve any deeper,
Sebastian appeared next to me. "There's

a room made up for you upstairs. There's

also food, if you're hungry."
I knew I should probably eat, but
my stomach was still churning from the
enormity of everything that had
happened. What I really needed was a
chance to process everything.
I shook my head. "I think I'll just
hit the hay, if that's okay."
"Whatever you want," he replied.
I nodded farewells to the guys,
who flashed tight little smiles before
drifting back towards their colleagues. I
wondered if they were going to get
chewed out for talking to me. I got the
sense that I wasn't exactly a guest of
honour.
Sebastian led me upstairs and

round the corner to a plainly made up

bedroom. "There's a bathroom if you
want a shower, and something to change
into."
"Thanks," I said. That strange
sense of hesitation was still there in his
demeanour, like he was dealing with a
distant cousin he only saw at family gettogethers. The desperation, the burning
need I'd felt when he first burst into my
prison, was nowhere in sight.
"Is there something else going on?"
I asked.
"What do you mean?"
I nodded towards the foyer. "I'm
not stupid enough to think they're all here
for me."

He paused. "Things have been a bit

crazy around here. Your
disappearance... well, it wasn't an
isolated event."
I wanted to ask more, but the way
his brow furrowed and his voice shook
when he spoke told me that perhaps the
other situations hadn't turned out so well.
There would be time to discuss it later.
He moved to leave, but paused in
the doorway. "Like I said, this place is
as secure as possible. You saw the
guards as we came in, and nobody
outside of us even knows it exists.
You're safe here, Sophia."
I nodded, although it felt like a lie.
In spite of the virtual fortress around me,

I wasn't sure I'd ever really feel safe

again.

*****

In the past, I'd always considered

sleep a sanctuary. A lot of people in high
powered jobs struggle to get enough rest,
but no matter how stressed or strung out
I was, it had always come easily for me.
I love that sense of complete escape, of
just shutting down and blocking it all out
for a few hours.
But tonight was different. Every
time I closed my eyes, it was like being
plunged into biting water. I kept

remembering the way it had felt that

morning, in my house, fading out as the
drugs took hold. The brief explosion of
dread like a hand closing around my
heart as I realised, too late, what was
coming. Suddenly the darkness of sleep
wasn't soothing, it was terrifying.
And every time I did manage to
drift a little, I always woke in a cold
sweat, just minutes later, a montage of
terrifying images playing through my
head. I hated that sense of
powerlessness. I was the one in charge
of my mind, dammit. The experience had
been horrifying, but now it was over.
There was no reason to let it affect me
anymore. But logic didn't seem to be

relevant. This was beyond rationality.

Something had broken inside me.
The third or fourth time I woke, it
was with a sob. Moonlight cast the room
as a series of jagged silhouettes, and
despite knowing I was somewhere safe,
the unfamiliarity of my surroundings sent
something sharp skittering through my
chest. Suddenly, it felt like everything
was closing in around me. I let out
another cry and burrowed deeper under
the covers, feeling fresh tears welling in
my eyes. I didn't want to be this person,
this person who cried at shadows, but I
didn't know how to deal with the
emotions that were roaring up inside me.
I felt another bolt of fear as I heard
the door open, but in a moment there was

a familiar weight on the bed, and then

Sebastian's arms were circling my body
from behind.
"It's okay," he said, his voice soft.
"Let it out."
I have no idea how he knew I was
in distress, but in spite of everything that
was still unresolved between us, I loved
that he'd come. The sheer strength of his
presence dwarfed everything else,
dulling the fear. He was my rock and I
clung on for dear life, lest I slip back
below the surface again.
He didn't say anything else and so
neither did I, but just the act of being
together was enough. I lay there,
listening to the sound of his breathing,

enjoying the sensation of that solid chest

rising and falling against my back.
Gradually, my turmoil began to
dissipate. I had no idea how he had such
a calming effect on me. When we were
together, nothing else seemed to matter.
He felt like home, and for just that
night, I pretended like he still was.

CHAPTER THREE
Sebastian
I hadn't expected Sophia to sleep at
all, not after what she'd been through.
Trauma like that can break a person. But
somehow she'd drifted off. I had no idea
where she found the strength to be that
tough. She never ceased to amaze me.
For a while I lay there, trying to
get some rest myself, but the events of
the last two days had thrown my whole
world into chaos. It was all happening
again. The fact that I'd averted the worst

didn't make the situation any better. I

was an asshole. I should never have let
it get to this point, but I was weak, and it
had nearly cost the woman I love her
life. How the hell could I sleep, knowing
that?
To make matters worse, even now
I couldn't stay away. She was as secure
here as anywhere, but the moment she'd
left my sight I began to feel agitated. I
still hadn't managed to shed the mindless
terror that had seized me when I first
heard she'd been taken. The urge to go to
her, to simply hold her and never let go,
had been almost overpowering.
I'd tried to distract myself. There
was certainly no shortage of work to be
done most of my colleagues were

holed up together in the board room,

planning well into the night but I was
useless there. My mind only wanted to
focus on one thing, and soon I found
myself sitting, propped up against the
wall outside her room, nursing several
fingers of scotch in a heavy crystal
tumbler. I didn't know why, but just
being close to her helped. I made myself
vow not to enter. It had taken an
immense level of control to cut her off
the first time, and every moment in her
presence stretched my willpower just a
little more. I would keep her safe and
solve all this, and then when it was all
over, I'd let her go again. It was the only
way.

But the moment I heard her sobbing

through the door, all sense of selfcontrol fled. Before I knew it, I was on
my feet and in her bed. I expected her to
fight, after all, I had to be the last person
she wanted to see, but she didn't. Instead
she just burrowed into me without a
word. I hated how perfect that felt, the
way her body fit like a missing puzzle
piece against mine. I still didn't
understand how such simple contact
could make me so content, but it did.
And now she slept. I couldn't help
but run my eyes over her again. Truth be
told, I'd barely been able to stop staring
since the moment I entered the room. She
looked so fucking beautiful lying there,

her face utterly peaceful, her curves

perfectly accentuated by the thin cotton
sheet. She'd taken the T-shirt I left her,
but not the pants, and now in the throes
of sleep she'd managed to knock part of
the cover free, exposing one delicate
hip. It was a tiny thing, the barest hint of
pale skin and black cloth, but the sight
took my breath away nonetheless. I felt
impossibly low, ogling her after
everything I'd put her through, but I was
powerless to do anything else. Her body
was like a drug, a burning rush through
my system that was impossible to ignore.
I knew how that hip would feel, if only
I'd reach out and touch it. I had every
inch of her body charted in my head; so
perfectly soft, so perfectly feminine.

Fuck. I had to pull myself together.

Ripping my gaze free, I eased my
arm out from under her. I'd done what I
came to do. She was resting. There was
no reason for me to stay.
She stirred briefly, and I came
within a hair's breadth of pulling her
back against me once more, but after a
few moments she settled. Taking one last
look, I moved quietly out into the
corridor and resumed my watch. I'd be
there if she needed me, but anything
beyond that was too hard. There was no
happy ending here, and letting myself
think otherwise would only destroy me
more.

*****

I spent the entire night in that

hallway. After a few hours my back was
killing me, but I refused to move until the
sun rose. It was stupid there were
many men much more dangerous than I,
stationed around the complex but I
felt compelled to guard her personally,
just that once, like that could somehow
make up for my earlier failure.
At around seven, I heard her
stirring. Not wanting her to know about
my vigil, I slipped downstairs and
headed for the kitchen. I'd sent enough

mixed messages for one night.

I had no idea what the day would
bring. Ever since I'd heard about her
kidnapping, I'd been operating purely on
instinct. A kind of base fury that blotted
out everything else. But now that I had
her, I had to face the reality of the
situation. Now the fallout would begin.
She came downstairs while I was
eating breakfast. She looked impossibly
angelic; eyes bright, hair tussled. God,
no wonder I was in trouble where she
was concerned. Even first thing in the
morning, frightened and bruised, she was
utterly gorgeous, and every time I saw
her, it was like seeing her again for the
first time.
She shot me a small smile, but it

was cautious, deflated. I didn't blame

her. "Hey," she said.
"Hey," I replied. "Sleep okay?"
She nodded, apparently unsure if
she should say anything about my visit.
"Eventually, yeah. I'm starving now
though."
"I expected you might be. There's
toast or cereal. I'm sorry it's not
scrambled eggs, but we're a little
unprepared here."
She blinked a few times, her
expression unreadable. I don't know why
I made reference to that morning. It felt
like a lifetime ago.
"That'll be fine," she said, and set
about making herself something. A

minute later, she joined me at the table.

We ate in silence for a while, but I
knew that was temporary. She had that
glint in her eye again, and the curious
little curve of her mouth that I'd seen so
many times before. It was the first thing
I'd noticed, months ago, when she snuck
into our party. I'd known that curiosity
was dangerous, but somehow when I
opened my mouth to send security after
her, I found myself dismissing them
instead. The worst part was that, even
now, I couldn't make myself regret it.
"So," she said, after a few minutes.
"What happens now?"
I grimaced. I didn't know what to
tell her. All of this was unprecedented.
Her very presence here went against

every rule in the book. "Now, we try to

find who did this."
She nodded slowly. "And what
about me?"
"You'll stay here until it's safe for
you to go home."
She stared for several seconds.
"And that's it?"
I shrugged and nodded.
"You're still not going to give me
any kind of explanation?"
I knew it was pointless, but I tried
to fend her off nonetheless. "Like I told
you before, Sophia, these secrets, this
life, it isn't mine to share. Nothing about
that has changed since I wrote that
letter."

Her jaw tightened. "Nothing has

changed? Are you kidding me? I just got
kidnapped, Sebastian. Kidnapped! If that
doesn't change things, I don't know what
does."
I didn't know how to reply. She
was right. Of course she was right. But
that didn't give me license to break two
millennia of tradition. "I'm sorry," I said,
but even I knew it sounded weak.
"That's not good enough. It was
one thing to keep me in the dark when it
was just our relationship on the line, but
it's more than that now. This is my life,
for Christ's sake. I didn't ask for this, but
like it or not, I'm here now. I deserve to
know what the hell I'm involved in."

I stared into my coffee. There were

no right choices. If I told her, I'd be
betraying my brothers. But if I didn't, I'd
be betraying her. She wasn't going to
take that lying down either. If I didn't
give her answers, she'd try to find them
on her own. And who could blame her?
If I were in her position, I'd want to
know. But if she started digging, it
would only make things worse.
"This isn't a secret like other
secrets, Sophia," I said, feeling
impossibly heavy in the chest. My heart
and my brain continued to wage war
inside me, but I think the battle was
already decided. I wanted her to
understand why I'd made the decisions

I'd made, why I'd caused her such pain.

"This isn't the kind of thing you promise
to keep to yourself, then get drunk and
spill to your friends."
She rolled her eyes. "I kind of
figured that when it caused a couple of
men to break into my house and drug me.
I get it, this is serious business."
I exhaled slowly and glanced
towards the door, realising exactly how
dangerous this was. Most people were
still asleep, but all it would take would
be one early riser to overhear, and both
of Sophia and I would wind up in the
firing line. The severity of everything
else that was going on here had allowed
me a little leniency with the rules, but
that would only extend so far. Sharing

our secrets was one of the most serious

breaches possible.
I got up and checked the corridor,
then shut the door. "You can't let the
others know I told you. I mean that.
They're not stupid. They must already
realise you know more than you should,
but there's a difference between
suspicion and confirmation. If they even
catch a hint of this discussion, they'll
have grounds to take the matter further,
and at that point I doubt I'll be able to
protect us."
Her breathing quickened a little,
and for a few seconds I could see her
wrestling with herself, but eventually
she gave a quick nod. "I understand." I

couldn't help but smile. Told that this

information could get her killed, she
barely blinked.
I closed my eyes. I felt a little like
I was about to jump out of a plane.
"I'm... part of something," I said.
"Something very old and very big. We're
called the Alpha Group."
"That's what the 'A' stands for?"
"Yes."
She nodded to herself. "Okay. So
what is it?"
"It's tough to describe. The best
phrase would probably be a secret
society, but thanks to Dan Brown, that
now conjures up images of religious
cults and portals to other worlds. The
truth of it is a little subtler than that."

"A secret society?" she said,

enunciating each word carefully. She
didn't look surprised, in fact she seemed
incredibly calm. "Like the Freemasons?"
"Kind of, but not really. These
days, they're more of a social club than
anything else. It's difficult to be a secret
when everyone knows you exist."
Her eyes were focused intently on
me, quietly processing every word I
said. "So, what do you do that's so
different?"
I gave a wry smile. "That's not
easy to summarise. We have our fingers
in a lot of pies. In a nutshell, we try to
steer things in specific directions."
"What sort of things?"

"Whatever we think is important,"

I replied. "You have to understand, this
isn't some two-bit little operation,
Sophia. What you've seen here is the
tiniest fraction of the group as a whole.
We have people all over the world.
Government, finance, entertainment, you
name it. Each member is carefully
selected for the influence they bring to
the table and, through that network, we
can pull whatever strings we want."
She closed her eyes briefly,
pinching the bridge of her nose between
two fingers. "I'm not sure I understand. I
mean, I knew you had to be involved in
something big, but this is some
conspiracy theory stuff you're claiming."

She shook her head slowly. "So, what,

are we talking like rigging elections and
starting wars?"
I licked my lips. "Those are pretty
extreme examples. We tend to be a little
more low key than that. I'd rather not go
into the specifics I'm breaking enough
rules as it is but everything we do has
a larger purpose."
"And who decides on the larger
purpose?" she asked, a hint of
disapproval in her voice. "If what you're
saying is true, aren't you basically just a
group of people who conspire to use
your connections to do whatever the hell
you want?"
"It's a little more complicated than
that. You're judging us without knowing

anything about us."

"So explain it, because it seems to
me that a group like this is basically
corrupt by definition. No wonder you
and your friends are richer than sin."
I sighed. It was almost impossible
to make her understand in the space of a
single conversation. People were
normally brought in slowly, over a
matter of months. It had taken me nearly
a quarter of a year to fully wrap my head
around it all. "It's not like that. Most
people in the group are recruited
because of their wealth and power, not
the other way around. The group is
fundamentally about doing good."
"In what way?"

Apparently I was going to have to

give more details. I wracked my brains
for an example that would get through to
her. "Remember the town I told you I
grew up in?"
She nodded.
"Well I made that my first project
when I joined, before I came to
Australia. The group worked wonders
over there. We got the government to
pave actual roads, had them install better
water filtration, even got the town on the
electricity grid. It's still dirt poor, but the
people there actually have a chance
now. Our work isn't all that overtly
philanthropic of course, don't think I'm
sugar coating it, but our overall goal is

to fix glaring inequalities, to protect

people who can't protect themselves."
"But those sorts of responsibilities
belong to the government. You know, the
people we actually choose to run
things."
"Come on, Sophia. Someone as
smart as you can't really believe in the
effectiveness of the government when it
comes to protecting the individual.
There's as much corruption there as
anywhere in the world. Look at the GFC.
Millions of people were financially
ruined, and yet nothing came of it.
Nobody has really been punished, no
changes have been put in place. And
that's just the tiniest tip of the iceberg."
She pondered this. "Okay, that

might be true, but if you're so concerned

with the lives of the everyday worker,
why didn't you do something about that?"
I grimaced. "That's a sore spot for
us, actually. The truth is we just didn't
see it early enough. We're powerful, but
we're not omniscient, and the big banks
are particularly hard for us to break into
at a high level. The kinds of guys who
are happy to swindle people for billions
aren't generally the sort of members we
want to recruit."
For a few seconds she sat in
silence, her face impassive.
"You know me," I continued. "You
know the sort of person I am. Is it so
hard to believe we might actually have

good intentions?"
Her expression softened, although
she still seemed somewhat unsure. "Let's
say I believe you," she said. "There's
still a lot of questions unanswered. Like
how are you not discovered?"
I shrugged. "We're very good at
staying under the radar. We've had a lot
of practice. The group is over two
thousand years old."
Her eyes widened. "Two
thousand?"
I nodded. "This sort of thing
doesn't just spring up overnight. We
started in ancient Greece hence the
name as a way to keep the
government in check, and it kind of grew
from there. Democracy was new then,

and there were... teething problems.

When those problems didn't go away
with time, we hung around. Anyway,
with the amount of influence we've now
got, keeping our activities out of the
limelight is actually fairly easy, as long
as we don't do anything too bold."
"So what about Fraiser Capital
then?"
"It's a real company," I replied,
"but it's also our main front, here in
Australia. Venture capital firms throw
money at all kinds of strange projects.
Having it as a legitimate entity makes
financing and directing our operations
much easier."
"So that party I snuck into...?"

"A meeting for potential new

recruits."
She nodded to herself. "Right." She
was much calmer now that the initial
disbelief had worn off, calmer than I'd
expected.
Her eyes flicked to mine, and she
hesitated. "So I'm guessing that a group
like this probably has its share of
enemies," she said slowly.
I could see where she was going
with this, connecting the dots. "We do."
"Enemies that might do things like
kidnap your members' girlfriends?"
My shoulders slumped. "It's
possible." Instinctively I reached out to
clasp her hand, but managed to stop

myself. No more mixed messages.

"Believe me, I've been wracking my
brains trying to work out why this
happened. I have no idea what anyone
would hope to gain from taking you."
"Is there anyone out there that
might want to hurt you personally?" she
asked.
It wasn't like I hadn't been through
that a thousand times too, both now and
when Liv was killed, but I always came
up empty. "Not that I can think of."
She pondered for a few more
seconds. "What about whatever's going
on here then? The other disappearances.
Is there a connection there?"
I closed my eyes briefly, feeling a
fresh surge of anger. With everything that

had happened to Sophia, it was easy to

forget that there was more at stake than
that.
"Maybe. Those situations were a
little different," I replied, struggling to
keep my voice level. "They weren't
disappearances. They were murders."
Her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh
God," she said, and this time she was the
one that reached for me. That simple
contact felt wonderful and, although I
knew I should, I didn't pull away.
"The first one happened a few days
ago. Charlie didn't show up for an
appointment. We didn't think too much of
it, until the next day, when someone went
to his house and discovered his body."

"Jesus," Sophia replied.

"We were still trying to figure it
out, but then yesterday, the same thing
happened with Simon. At that point we
knew we were under attack, so we
followed protocol and gathered our
senior members here." It felt strange to
be saying this stuff out loud. It made it
seem more real. I'd known Charlie and
Simon for the better part of ten years.
They were my friends, and although
saving Sophia had briefly blotted out
everything else, I felt their loss as keenly
as anyone.
"I'm sorry," she said.
I nodded in thanks. "Perhaps
there's a connection there," I said.

"Perhaps it was the same people and we

just got to you before..." I couldn't finish
the sentence. "Anyway, we're using
every available resource to work out
who is responsible. And I swear to you,
I won't stop until you're safe and you can
leave all of this behind."
She stared at me for what felt like
an eternity, her jaw set tightly, her eyes
flickering with some emotion I couldn't
identify.
Eventually, I heard the sound of a
door closing upstairs. People were
starting to wake up. Realising she still
held my hand in hers, I reluctantly pulled
away and got to my feet. "I have to go.
There will be a meeting soon and I have
to prepare. Just try to lie low, okay? I'll

check in with you later."

She gave the barest hint of a nod.
I felt better, having told her the
truth. Now she understood. It didn't make
up for the pain I'd caused, but it was
something.
On my way back to my room, I ran
into Trey, who was just coming in
through the front door.
"Just the man I wanted to see," he
said. He wasn't part of our senior
council, so he wasn't staying in the
house. He was out on the street, working
leads and keeping the rest of Alpha's
ventures running smoothly.
"Oh yeah? What's up?" I asked.
He handed me a file he was

carrying. "Just got these back from our

team. None of those guys that took
Sophia came back with any kind of
match. Whoever they were, the
computers of the world do not know
them."
I let out a long sigh. Everything
we'd run so far on Sophia's kidnappers
had come back negative. Nobody should
have been that hard to track. We had
access to every database that mattered.
"Thanks," I said to him. "Keep at
it. Something has to give eventually."
"Will do." He hesitated, like he
was afraid to ask what came next.
"How's Sophia doing?"
I gave a weary shrug. "I don't
know. It's hard to tell. I think she might

still be in shock, to be honest."

"Yeah, I can imagine all of this is
pretty difficult for a civilian to process."
"That's one way to put it," I said
heavily. I had no idea how she was
going to react to everything I'd just told
her once she had some time to digest it.
It could go a thousand different ways.
"Anyway, I should go. Meeting in a few
minutes."
"No worries."
I turned to go, but then a thought
occurred to me.
"How do you do it, Trey?"
He cocked his head to one side.
"Do what?"
"Keep your private life and your

professional life separate?" A few years

ago, Trey had been just like me. One
empty fling after another. But then he'd
had his own Sophia moment. He'd met a
girl who made him give all that up, but
unlike me, he managed to keep her in the
dark. I didn't think I'd even met her. He
kept her totally separate from anything
group related. I always wondered how
he pulled that off.
He flashed me a half smile. "I just
have a girl who understands me, I
guess."
He made it sound so damn easy.

CHAPTER FOUR
Sebastian
I'd always known there were
protocols in place for if a situation ever
got really bad, but I'd never experienced
them first hand until now. All of our key
personnel were currently gathered here
in lock down. It was part strategy
meeting, part protection detail. We
couldn't afford to leave ourselves
exposed, not when we were completely
on the back foot. Whoever was behind
the attacks was clearly well connected.

So far, they'd been like ghosts.

After a quick shower, I headed to
the back of the house. We'd set up a
makeshift board room in the study, and
the bulk of the inner council was already
there when I arrived. Thomas, and one
or two others, nodded greetings, but the
rest either ignored me or scowled
pointedly before turning away. I hadn't
done myself any favours rescuing Sophia
the way I had. It went against several
key group rules, and a good chunk of the
room wasn't in a hurry to let me forget it.
If the situation had been any less dire, I'd
probably have faced disciplinary action;
but, for now, they had to settle for dirty
looks and snide comments. We had
bigger things on our plate.

"How you holding up?" asked

Thomas, coming over to join me.
I shrugged. "How do you think?" I
tried to keep the frustration from my
voice, but I didn't do a very good job.
He studied me for several seconds.
"You got her out, man. That's what
matters."
"Is it? Then why do I still feel like
shit?"
"Hey, I don't blame you. I'd be
angry too. But try to go a little easier on
yourself. You couldn't have known."
I felt my hands contract into fists.
"Of course I could have. You know, I
really thought I was smart enough not to
put anyone else in this position again,

but apparently I'm a slower learner than

I thought."
He flinched a little at my tone, but
his voice remained calm. "I thought we
were past this. You know as well as I do
that the situations are completely
different. What happened to Liv was a
tragedy, but there's nothing tying it to any
of this. It was a freak accident, that's all.
You have to let it go. Stop blaming
yourself."
I gave a bitter little laugh. It wasn't
like I hadn't tried. Objectively, I knew he
was right. Our investigation had never
found anything to indicate that Liv's
death was more than a standard break
and enter gone wrong. But no matter how
much evidence there was to the contrary,

the heavy sensation I'd carried in my

stomach since that day refused to
dissipate.
From the moment Liv and I became
something more than a casual fling, part
of me had felt uneasy about it. There's no
hard and fast rules about relationships
within the group. As long as our secrets
remain hidden, you're allowed to do
whatever you want. Most Alpha
members simply choose to forgo that
kind of companionship to make their
lives easier, and I'd been firmly in that
camp. Then I met her.
Liv had a vibrancy to her that was
completely infectious. I'd never known
anyone like her. She was passionate and

energetic, and she seemed to genuinely

care about me for more than just my
money. In retrospect, I could recognise
more than a little youthful infatuation in
our relationship, but at the time it felt
like something deeper. A little voice in
the back of my head constantly told me
that I was leading her down a dangerous
road, but I was too selfish to stop. I don't
know why I was surprised when it blew
up in my face. Even if her death was an
accident, I still broke her heart, and I
hated myself for that. I swore I'd never
be responsible for that sort of pain
again.
But now there was Sophia. If my
attraction to Liv was the firm pull of a
magnet, my attraction to Sophia was like

gravity; unyielding and inescapable.

Something about her just rendered me
utterly powerless. From the moment I
met her, I felt like I was trapped in a
whirlpool, swimming in vain against the
current as it gradually sucked me down.
It scared me. It felt like only a matter of
time before it drowned us both.
"Either way," I said, "I still put
Sophia in danger. You're not going to try
and absolve me of that one too are you?"
He sighed. "Just because you're
involved doesn't make it your fault."
I wished I could believe that. He
was just being a good friend, but no
amount of support could fix this.
I gazed around at the roomful of

men I'd given my life to. From the

moment I joined the group, they'd been
the world to me. Even when I was with
Liv, I'd never considered a different
path. "Do you ever regret all this?" I
asked, my tone softening. "Because I
have to say, right now, for the first time,
I'm actually starting to doubt my choice."
He flashed a sympathetic smile. "I
think we've all felt like that, at one time
or another. This isn't an easy road, by
any means. But you know how important
it is."
I nodded, though it was more for
him than me. Truth be told, I wasn't sure
I knew what was important anymore.
Nothing made sense now.
A few minutes later, everyone had

arrived. We took our seats.

"So," said Ewan, "give me some
good news." Although he wasn't in
charge in any real sense, as the longest
serving member, he ran the meetings. He
was also the most visibly upset person
in the room. Sunken eyes spoke of
sleepless nights, and his hands roved
restlessly across the table, as if just
staying in motion might somehow speed
things up. The two men we'd lost, Simon
and Charlie, had been close friends of
his.
Marcus, the youngest member of
the group, grimaced. He was our point of
contact for the investigation. "We don't
know much more than yesterday,

unfortunately. Our guys went over every

inch of Simon's house, but it was the
same as Charlie's. No signs of forced
entry, security footage wiped. Whoever
it was did one hell of a job."
"What about the autopsy?" asked
Thomas.
"Still coming," replied Marcus. He
glanced at Ewan. "He didn't go gently,
though, I can tell you that much."
Ewan slammed his fist down on
the table. "I'll make sure you don't go
gently, you little shit."
"I don't mean to be disrespectful,"
replied Marcus, looking a little pale.
"But it's important. This wasn't just
about taking them out. Someone went to
a lot of effort working them over, which

means that, chances are, they wanted to

know something."
"Were the two of them working on
any projects together?" I asked.
"Anything tying them together?"
But before Marcus could reply,
Ewan cut in. "Well, look who has
decided to rejoin us," he said, making a
big show of looking surprised to see me.
"Does that mean you're ready to focus on
what's important again?"
"I'm sorry about my absence last
night," I replied, trying to remain calm.
"I had other things on my mind." He was
right to be angry, and if I'd been in his
position, I'd have reacted the same way.
I had an obligation to these men, an

obligation that couldn't just be cast aside

on a whim. But the suggestion that
anything was more important than
finding Sophia made everything inside
me tense.
"That's exactly my fucking point,"
the older man replied. "We've got a
major crisis going on, and your head
isn't in the game. It's busy burying itself
between a pretty pair of thighs."
Thomas' hand flew out, firmly
holding me in my chair. He knew me
well. Rage poured through me. "If you
keep talking like that," I said, my voice
sharp enough to cut glass, "the group
will be down another member before too
long."
"Is that right?" Ewan asked. He

didn't look even slightly perturbed.

"You'd put her before one of your own?
You're even further gone than I thought."
Guilt and anger seethed in my
stomach. Ewan and I had never gotten
along, and I knew most of his aggression
was just frustration at the loss of his
friends, but there was a tiny part of me
that thought he might be right. Perhaps
my priorities really had changed. "Why
do you care so much what I do?"
He laughed. "You flatter yourself.
Honestly, Sebastian, I don't give two
shits what you do. But what I do care
about is you using Alpha resources to
rescue your girlfriend when they could
be out there finding the bastards that did

Simon and Charlie in."

I opened my mouth, unsure exactly
what I was going to say, but Thomas
jumped in ahead of me. "You still don't
think there's a connection there, Ewan?
The people that took Sophia were
organised, efficient, and clearly backed
by some serious money. Exactly the sort
of operation that might have been able to
take out our guys."
Ewan shifted uncomfortably in his
chair. "That doesn't prove anything."
"That's true," Thomas said, "but it
is a pretty big coincidence, and I,
personally, don't care much for
coincidences. In any case, we have very
little idea what's going on here yet. Let's
not lose our heads until we know more."

Ewan seethed in his chair for a

few moments. "Maybe you're right.
Maybe. But you want to hear what I
know already? I know that the group is
under attack, and yet there's a civilian
girl walking around in our headquarters,
seeing everything, overhearing God
knows what." He turned his gaze to me
and raised his eyebrows ever so slightly,
as if to say, 'Or being told God knows
what.'
"Where do you want her to go?" I
asked, desperation creeping into my
voice. "You know the kinds of people
we deal with. Sending her back out there
may well be a death sentence."
For a moment, I thought I'd gotten

through, but then Ewan's expression

hardened further. "I don't know, but she
doesn't belong here."
"For now, I say she does," Thomas
said. "At least until we know what we're
up against. Someone wants her, and if it
is the same people who did that to
Simon and Charlie, then it's in our best
interests to deny them what they want,
wouldn't you say?"
Ewan glared around the table.
Several others seemed to share his
disapproval, but nobody could come up
with a counter. It was hard to argue in
the face of sound logic.
I shot Thomas an appreciative
smile. "I'll make sure she stays out of
everyone's hair," I said to Ewan.

He nodded curtly, and the meeting

turned to other matters. Despite my best
intentions, however, I couldn't focus. All
I could think about were Ewan's words.
In truth, he was right. Bringing her here
had been a mistake. Even if I'd told her
nothing, her curiosity would eventually
have gotten the best of her. The moment
she'd walked through those doors,
everything had changed. But all other
paths led to the unthinkable. I didn't
know what other option I'd had. It was a
no win scenario.

*****

I spent the rest of the day alone in

my room, trying a few more abstract
methods to identify Sophia's kidnappers,
but the truth was, it was mostly a waiting
game at this point. All the information
we had was already out there. We were
just waiting for someone to get back to
us with something positive. It was
incredibly frustrating. We had all the
power in the world at our fingertips, and
we were still coming up empty.
At about five in the evening, there
was a knock at my door.
"You got a minute?" asked Marcus,
poking his head inside. It had ruffled a
few feathers that we had promoted him

to the council so quickly, but despite

being relatively young, he was a really
promising member; the perfect
combination of smart and level-headed.
"Sure, what's up?" I said.
He stepped inside and closed the
door behind him. "Well, I just got
something back from the lab, and I
thought you should be the first to know."
I felt a tingle of excitement. Maybe
we'd finally caught our break. "Tell me
you've got a name for me," I said.
He licked his lips nervously. "Not
exactly. Our guys are still trying to run
down who exactly owns that house you
raided. Whoever it is laid one hell of a
paper trail. What we did get was a
match on some blood we found in one of

the rooms there." He hesitated ever so

slightly. "It belonged to Simon."
I sank back slowly into my chair.
Thomas had been right, the two
situations were linked. I wasn't surprised
the coincidence was difficult to
ignore but knowing for sure only
made our predicament more confusing.
Why would anyone go to pains to kill
two of my brothers, but then take Sophia
instead of me? All I could think of was
that they wanted leverage over me
somehow, but I couldn't imagine what
for. It was baffling.
"I appreciate you telling me first,"
I said.
"No problem. The others called a

pre-dinner meeting, but I kind of figured

you might not show."
I nodded. "Yeah, I might sit this
one out. You've given me a lot to think
about." As much as I wanted to be there
to see Ewan's face when the connection
was confirmed, I didn't particularly feel
like wading back into that minefield just
yet.
"No worries. I'll keep you posted."
"Thanks."
I sat for a while after he left,
pondering the new discovery. As
frightening as the situation was, in some
ways that connection was a good thing.
Whatever our enemies were planning,
Sophia was obviously a part of it, and so
rescuing her had likely thrown a spanner

in the works. And since we now had just

a single target, I could feel comfortable
directing the full brunt of Alpha's
resources at the problem.
It was little progress, but I knew
Sophia would want to hear about it
anyway. I found her in her room, curled
up on the bed, nursing a cup of tea and
staring at the wall.
"Hey," she said, as I entered.
"Hi." Our conversations were
uncomfortable now, like the lies and
secrets had piled up to form an invisible
barrier in the air between us. It was
what I wanted, it was what we needed,
but it still hurt like hell.
"How are you holding up?"

She shrugged. "As well as can be

expected, I guess. There's not much to do
around here." She held up her mug and
gave it a little shake. "Although this tea
addiction I'm developing looks
promising. This is my fifth cup today."
"That stuff will kill you," I said,
managing a small smile.
She returned it, and something
loosened in my chest. "So they tell me.
Anyway, how's the big investigation?
Assassinate any presidents today?"
"Not that I know of, although that's
not my department," I replied. I was glad
she was still able to find humour in the
situation. Maybe she wasn't quite as
damaged by it all as I'd feared. "I did get

one small piece of info, though."

She gazed at me expectantly.
"Yeah?"
"They found a few bloodstains in
that house you were being held in. Our
lab just matched it with Simon, one of
my brothers who was killed."
Her expression grew tense once
more. "I see. I guess the connection
makes sense. Does that help you find out
who's behind it?"
I shook my head. "We're still
coming up empty on that, so far. But now
that we know the investigations are
linked, we'll be throwing everything we
have at it."
She nodded, although she didn't
look particularly comforted. "Okay."

"There's something else I wanted

to talk to you about," I said, moving over
to sit next to her on the bed. "I know this
situation is awful for you, and God
knows that being in this place isn't
making it any easier."
"You mean the friendly Scotsman
and his band of merry men?" she said.
"Yeah. I know they're not the most
welcoming lot, so I was thinking, what if
you went away for a while? We have the
resources to get you a new passport, a
new identity, and obviously money isn't
a problem. You could go wherever you
wanted, and nobody would be able to
track you down. It would be kind of like
a holiday."

Part of me hated the idea of

sending her anywhere I couldn't watch
over her, but my argument with Ewan
had got me thinking about alternatives.
Her presence here was certainly
problematic, and it wasn't going to get
any easier. In fact with everyone on such
short fuses, it felt almost inevitable that
something would explode eventually.
This wasn't a world she belonged in, and
taking a trip was the only way I could
think of to extricate her while still
keeping her safe.
"And how long would I be gone,
exactly?" she asked, her expression
unreadable.
"You know I can't give you an

exact time frame, Sophia."

I thought she was going to blow up
at me, but when she spoke, her tone was
calm. "I appreciate the offer, but I have a
life here, Sebastian. The idea of
dropping everything and disappearing
with no return date in mind doesn't sit
well with me."
I closed my eyes, feeling a huge
stab of guilt. Whether or not she went,
her life was on hold. She could hardly
wander back home in a few weeks if our
enemies were still out there.
"Just think about it, okay?" I said.
"Okay."
She continued to stare at me. There
was a sadness to her expression, but
also a glimmer of something else,

something questioning. I realised then

how closely we were sitting. There was
barely a foot separating us. Her smell
orange blossom and vanilla suddenly
seemed to be everywhere. All I had to
do was lean in and my mouth would be
on hers. I could already visualise how
she'd taste, how she'd tremble, how her
tongue would feel curled around my
own.
I knew I should leave, but my
muscles refused to obey. All I could do
was sit there and drink her in. Fuck, I
wanted to kiss her. I wanted to grab hold
of her and push her down and show her
that she was still mine. But, of course,
that wasn't true.

I didn't understand why she hadn't

sent me away yet. Instead she just sat
with her eyes locked to mine, her lips
hanging ever so slightly open, like an
illicit invitation. There was something
smoky lurking in her gaze now,
something that shouldn't have been there.
It was almost enough.
Closing my eyes, I sucked in a
shuddering breath and got to my feet. "I
have to go."
She was still for a few seconds,
then nodded slowly. For a brief moment,
I almost thought she looked
disappointed. It didn't make any sense.
I fled.
I needed to be alone with my

thoughts, but as I headed for my room, I

ran into the last person I wanted to see.
"Sneaking in a quickie while the
rest of us are slaving away, hey?" said
Ewan, who was waiting for me around
the corner.
"I'm not in the mood, Ewan," I
said, trying to swerve around him, but he
stepped sideways, blocking my path.
"Maybe I am," he said.
I found myself fuming at his school
boy antics. "Have you got something you
want to say?"
He chewed thoughtfully for several
seconds, as if working an invisible piece
of tobacco around his mouth. "Marcus
filled us in on what he'd found. Looks
like your girl is involved in all this,

somehow."
"Does that mean you're going to get
off my back about it?"
He laughed. "Hardly. Just because
you went and created a weak spot for
yourself doesn't mean the group should
have to clean up after you. Having her
here is a liability. We don't know her
and we don't trust her."
"I trust her."
"Do you?" he asked, bitter
amusement evident in his voice.
"Perhaps that's the problem."
I took a step closer, feeling
something animal flare in my chest.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
But Ewan was not easily

intimidated. "It means that something

here doesn't add up," he said, staring me
right in the eyes. "Nobody outside of
Alpha should even know the council
exists. Yet a month or two after you start
swapping promise rings with Ally
McBeal in there, suddenly our guys start
dying."
"You're joking, right? Did you
forget that they took her too?"
He gave a little shrug. "Maybe they
were just finishing the job. Cleaning up
loose ends."
It took every fibre of my being not
to knock him to the floor. My hands
twitched at my sides, both balled tightly
into fists. But I was already walking on
thin ice as it was. Hitting him would

only make things worse.

"This is ridiculous," I said.
"Maybe. Maybe I'm way off. But
either way, there's no excuse for
breaking the rules."
I stared at him with gritted teeth.
There was nothing I could say. He was
right and we both knew it.
Not knowing what else to do, I
moved to leave again. This time he
didn't try to stop me. He'd gotten his
message across. Sophia's presence here
was more than an inconvenience, and it
was only a matter of time before she was
out on her own.

CHAPTER FIVE
Sophia
The second night was a little better
than the first, but not much. More than
once I woke flushed and sweating, the
sharp tang of my latest nightmare still
fresh on the back of my tongue. I
wondered if this was post-traumatic
stress. Based on what little I knew, it
certainly seemed possible. I'd never
understood how you couldn't just block
that stuff out, but now I did.
Part of me expected Sebastian to

magically appear once more and slip

into my bed like a comforting ghost, but
the door remained closed. I found myself
disappointed about that. It seemed crazy
to think about the prospect of 'us', in the
context of everything that was
happening, but no matter how terrified
and out of my depth I felt, there was no
denying the strength of my feelings for
him. Not to mention my attraction. The
energy that had sprung up between us
when he'd visited earlier had nearly
overwhelmed me. He had this way of
looking at my body, like he was
preparing to devour me, that ignited
something deep in my stomach. I wanted
to be angry hell I was angry but if,
at that moment, he'd kissed me, I wasn't

sure I'd have put up a fight.

I didn't know whether to be
touched or offended at the 'holiday' he'd
offered. It did feel a little like he was
just taking the easy route and trying to
sweep me under the rug, but at the same
time, everything he said was valid.
Things were uncomfortable here, and I
knew it must be just as bad for him. I
appreciated the predicament he was in,
even if it was somewhat his fault. I just
wished I wasn't in it as well.
More than once I considered
agreeing to go. An all-expenses paid trip
overseas was hardly the worst
proposition in the world; but, truth be
told, the idea of being out there all alone

scared me. My life was here and it was

under siege. I couldn't just run away
while somebody else dealt with that.
After several hours of restless
turning, I gave up trying to sleep and
reached for my phone. Sebastian hadn't
mentioned it, but when I woke up that
morning, I found a few of my
possessions waiting for me in the
hallway outside. Apparently he'd sent
someone to my house.
It was a good thing too, because
there were already several texts from the
girls waiting for me. Another day or two
and they'd have started to worry.
Ruth: Hey Hon'. Hope the
wallowing is going well. If you need

another pick-me-up, I'm willing to take

one for the team and suffer through a
few more midday mojitos. Let me know.
I'd read them over and over today,
relishing that tiny connection to my old
life. It had been less than two days, but
somehow that's what it felt like now: my
old life. At a time where everything else
was in ruins, it was nice to be reminded
I still had someone waiting for me when
this was all over. If it ever would be.
I'd already reassured them both I
was fine, conjuring up some story about
visiting my sister down in Melbourne for
a little mental recharge, but as I stared at
the screen now, I was nearly overcome

with the desire to call them and tell them

everything. It was a terrible idea, but
curled up there, in the unfamiliar dark,
surrounded by people I barely knew
with agendas I couldn't even fathom, I
felt so incredibly alone.
After staring for a few precarious
seconds, my thumb poised over Ruth's
number, I shoved the phone back into my
bedside drawer and headed out in search
of tea. What I really wanted was
something a little more numbing I
figured a house like this had to have a
wine cellar but drinking away my
problems probably wasn't the best
option right now. I needed to stay alert.
The world seemed to have turned into a
much more dangerous place, virtually

overnight, and in this dimension of

secret societies and covert kidnappings,
waking up with a killer hangover might
have a different meaning entirely.
I had no idea how to process
everything Sebastian had told me. Part of
me wanted to laugh it off as an absurd
joke, something dug out of a bad eighties
espionage film, but taking into account
everything that I'd seen, I believed it. I
didn't know what it all meant yet, but I
planned on remedying that situation. As
unbelievable as it was, I was a part of
this, now. I could either sit, awestruck
on the sidelines, or I could try and work
out exactly what the hell I'd gotten
myself into.

The house was silent as I made my

way to the kitchen. It wasn't until I put
the kettle on and began hunting for a cup
that I realised I wasn't the only person
awake.
"Can't sleep?" said a voice behind
me.
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
Turning, I saw a familiar figure, cast in
shadow, nursing a mug of his own at the
breakfast table.
"Jesus, Joe. You scared the hell
out of me."
He chuckled. "My apologies," he
said, although he didn't sound
particularly sorry. "Feel like some
company?"

It seemed harmless enough. I

wasn't exactly going to drift off anytime
soon. I filled my cup and moved over to
join him. "I take it you know what
happened?" I asked.
He nodded. "I was there when
Sebastian got the news."
"Then you know why I can't sleep."
He nodded again. "I don't blame
you. I don't think anyone would rest easy
after a thing like that."
I appreciated that he didn't offer
any advice. Just understanding.
We sat in silence for a few
minutes. Despite the lack of
conversation, I was enjoying the
company. He might not have been

Sebastian, but his presence seemed to

hold back the darkness a little
nonetheless.
Eventually though, he spoke. "He
told you." It wasn't a question.
Fear seized my belly. I turned my
gaze to him slowly. He didn't look angry,
in fact a ghost of a smile touched his
lips, but I knew what he meant
nonetheless. It hadn't occurred to me that
Joe might be an Alpha member. He just
seemed like hired help. But clearly there
was more to him than that.
I debated denying it, but the
certainty in his eyes said there was no
point. He knew. The question was, what
would he do with that knowledge?
I let out a long sigh. "He did."

Joe chewed his lip thoughtfully.

"Well then."
"You don't sound surprised."
He shrugged. "Everyone likes to
think they can keep their mouth shut
when necessary, but the truth is, every
man has his breaking point. The way he
talks about you, the only thing that
surprises me is that it took this long."
The way he talks about you. My
mind instantly went back to Sebastian's
letter, to all those heartbreakingly sweet
things he'd said. And then to that look
he'd worn when he first pushed his way
inside my prison, the rapture that had lit
his face when his eyes found mine. I
wasn't the only one struggling to switch

off my feelings.
You always hear stories about the
purity of love, about the way it swells
inside you until nothing else even
matters. I never cared much for that
perspective before that kind of love
typically isn't compatible with the sort of
future I saw for myself but now I
found myself longing for it to be that
simple. Every decision had turned into a
conflict, a titanic battle between heart
and brain, between logic and emotion. I
couldn't deny my feelings for him, but
whenever they rose inside me, they
brought with them anger and betrayal. I
knew it wasn't intentional, but he'd
exposed me to this world, a world that
was currently trying to chew me up and

spit me out again. It was hard to forgive

that, with the terror of my kidnapping
still blanketing everything like a thick
fog.
And even if I could get past it,
there were other elements to the
equation. Was he still the same man I'd
fallen for? In light of everything he'd told
me this morning, I didn't know. It was
almost easier to just write him and his
friends off as corrupt, power hungry
monsters; but, try as I might, I couldn't
see him being a part of something like
that. Not to mention guys like Thomas, or
apparently Joe. If Sebastian said their
intentions were noble, then I believed
him.

"This is a mess," I said, after a

pause, not sure if I was referring to my
relationship with Sebastian or the
forbidden knowledge he'd shared.
Joe let out a laugh. "That it is, girl.
That it is."
"So you're a member too then?" I
asked, stalling for time. I wasn't sure
where the conversation was going
exactly, but he'd obviously brought it up
for a reason. Something in my gut told
me I could trust him, but Sebastian's
warning loomed large in my mind
nonetheless.
"Indeed."
"Well, I don't mean any disrespect,
but isn't it a little demeaning having you

drive another member around?"

He shrugged. "It's not so bad. I
give him hell, but Sebastian's a better
sort than most. Besides, it's not like I
always did this."
"Oh?"
He grinned. "Alpha's not exactly in
the business of recruiting chauffeurs. Not
much to be gained by that. No, before
this I served thirty years in the British
Army."
I nodded. That explained the war
wound he'd mentioned the first day we
met. "In what capacity?"
"Infantry first, but they quickly
shuffled me to the officers' path instead."
He leaned in conspiratorially. "Didn't
seem to care for all the questions I

asked." He let out a short laugh. "Nope,

there's not a lot of space for curiosity on
the battlefield. I think they figured that if
I was going to be doing all that thinking,
I might as well be the one answering the
questions instead of asking."
"I think that's fair enough," I
replied.
"That's actually where I met
Sebastian."
"Sebastian was in the army?" That
revelation reminded me exactly how
little I knew about the man who had
stolen my heart.
"Briefly." He gave a rueful shake
of his head. "He was a terrible soldier,
just like me. Too headstrong, too

stubborn. I was his commanding officer,

and it got to the point where I was
forced to discharge him, but it seemed
like such a waste. There was something
special about him. I knew he was
capable of doing great things, and the
characteristics that made him unfit for
duty made him perfect for Alpha. So I
released him from service and
nominated him for consideration to join
the group. He was accepted, and now
here we are."
"I see," I replied, trying to picture
Sebastian in mud spattered combat
fatigues. It was difficult. The suit and tie
seemed almost like his second skin.
"What about you? Why'd you
quit?" I continued.

"Well, obviously I had more

important things to do here," he
deadpanned, nodding in the direction of
the bedrooms.
I laughed. "Obviously."
"Honestly though, I just kind of got
tired. You'd think gaining rank would be
a good thing, but by the last decade of
my career, I dreaded it. Every promotion
meant a little more time spent behind a
desk, a little more paperwork. There
was nothing to look forward to,
anymore."
"And so your solution was to drive
your protge around, day in and day
out?" I asked.
He shrugged. "It may not seem

particularly exciting, but the truth is,

there's rarely a dull moment around
here."
Thinking back on everything that
had happened in the last few days, I
could see his point. If this sort of stuff
was a regular occurrence, I wasn't sure
my heart could keep up. Another point
against Sebastian and I ever having a
real relationship. Thinking about it gave
me a newfound respect for military
wives. The prospect of my partner
constantly venturing into indescribable
danger was daunting, to say the least. I
didn't know how they coped.
"Is it always like this?" I asked.
"Kidnappings and secret lairs?"
He smiled. "Sometimes, but not as

often as you'd think. These are pretty

dire circumstances. Most of the time it's
more like being a politician; lots of
paperwork and meetings."
"So Sebastian just has impeccable
timing then."
Joe stared at me for several
seconds. "Don't be too hard on him,
Sophia. He didn't mean for any of this to
happen."
I let out a long breath and shook
my head slightly. "I know, but it doesn't
change the fact that it did."
"Not to downplay what you've
been through at all, but to be honest, I
think he's dealing with it as badly as you
are. Like I said, I was there when he got

the news. I've never seen anything like it

before. He could barely speak. Everyone
seemed to take it as anger, but I know
him better than most. I knew it for what
it really was. Fear.
"He wanted to throw everything
we had at that house the moment they
took you there, but that's not how the
group works. You can't just use Alpha
resources for personal situations, no
matter how serious they may be." His
lips compressed. "They argued for
hours. Virtually the whole room was
against him. Eventually, he realised they
weren't going to budge, but rather than
back down, he just stormed out and came
for you anyway. Took an entire squad of
our troops. To be honest, I'm kind of

glad nobody physically stepped in to

stop him. I have little doubt he'd have
gone by himself, if he had to.
"For now, nobody is doing
anything about it. We've got too much
else to worry about. But if I know that
group, he hasn't heard the last of it. Not
by a long shot." His gaze bored into me.
"I understand that this was hell for you, I
really do, but Sebastian did everything
in his power to make up for what
happened. He put himself at risk to save
you, so maybe cut him a little slack,
hey?"
My mouth felt impossibly dry. I
knew Sebastian had been distraught at
my kidnapping, but this cast it in an

entirely new light. He hadn't simply been

cleaning up an Alpha group mess. If
anything, he'd been doing the opposite.
He'd actively put my safety above the
interests of his brothers. He'd broken the
rules for me. I didn't know what it meant
was it a temporary lapse or a
permanent statement? but it made me
warm all over. My mind was suddenly
racing with possibilities.
"I didn't know," I said eventually.
"Well, now you do," he said with a
nod.
"Will he be in serious trouble?"
"I don't know. Time will tell. But,
in the past, such actions have been...
frowned upon, let's just say."
Something about the way he said

gave me the impression it was more

serious than he was letting on.
I weighed his words. Were
Sebastian's actions enough to overcome
all of the lies and the secrets? I didn't
know. I still had so many questions.
"Liv's death," I said carefully.
His expression turned grim. "Now
that was a hell of a thing."
"Sebastian said nobody really
knows what happened. Is that true?"
Despite his age, he was still sharp.
He saw my implication instantly.
"You're wondering if he should have
expected this?" He shook his head. "No,
nobody could have seen this coming. He
blames himself for Liv, but the reality is

it was just a case of wrong place, wrong

time."
"But if there was nothing to worry
about, why did he leave someone
outside my place?"
"Paranoia I suspect. You have to
understand, Sebastian took that hard,
harder than anything I've seen, until you
disappeared. He feels like if he hadn't
ended things with her, if he'd found some
way to make the relationship work,
perhaps things would have been
different."
I blinked in surprise. "Ended
things? He told me they were engaged."
"Ah," he said with a wince. "I'm
sorry. I assumed he'd told you the whole
story. Technically he didn't lie; they

were engaged. Several of us tried to

warn him of the dangers of such big
secrets in a marriage, but it's hard to
argue with love. Of course, it became
progressively easier as she began to get
suspicious. She was a bit of a computer
guru, you see. Was being headhunted by
all kinds of A-list companies, but they
wanted her to move overseas and
Sebastian couldn't, so she turned them
down. Anyway, one day, Sebastian left
his laptop open at an Alpha login portal.
To most people that wouldn't mean
much, but to a girl like her, it was a
beacon. Soon, she was digging up all
manner of strange info. It wasn't enough
to tell her anything concrete, but it told

her he was hiding something."

He took a long sip from his mug.
"So, she confronted him. They argued
and she gave him an ultimatum."
"And he chose the group," I
finished.
He nodded slowly. "Although
'chose' might be a little generous. This
isn't the sort of thing you can just walk
away from. A few people have managed
over the years, but it requires an
immense amount of planning and a
willingness to drop totally off the grid.
Not exactly an appealing prospect for an
up and coming IT whiz."
"I guess not." It was a lot to take
in. I couldn't help but notice all the
parallels. As well as the one big

difference. Sebastian had initially

chosen the group this time too but, when
push came to shove, he'd picked me.
"Anyway," Joe said, dragging
himself to his feet, "it's time to take these
old bones to bed. It's been lovely
chatting with you, Sophia."
"Goodnight."
He moved to leave, but paused in
the doorway. "I hope that whatever
comes of all this, you find some peace."
"Me too," I replied.

CHAPTER SIX
Sophia
I intended to head back to my room
but, instead, I found myself walking right
past the door and continuing up the
hallway. Something told me that
Sebastian would still be awake. I didn't
know exactly why I wanted to see him,
only that I did.
My instincts proved accurate. I
found him sitting at a desk in his room,
hunched over a laptop screen. The door
was open, but he didn't appear to notice

me, so for a while I simply stood and

watched. He looked tired. No, that
wasn't the right word. Haggard was
more appropriate. A man with the
weight of the world on his shoulders.
Even now, just the sight of him sent
a tingle curling through me. A surge of
lust, but there was something deeper too,
something comforting and strong that
blossomed in my stomach like a sunrise.
It made the prospect of seeing him again
exciting, no matter how often it
happened. I was beginning to think that
feeling would never go away.
I tried to put myself in his shoes;
impossible obligations pulling at me
from all sides. Would I have reacted
differently? Would I have continued our

relationship, knowing the world I was

exposing him to? I didn't know. It felt
like a position where there were no right
moves.
"I know what you did for me," I
said eventually.
He flinched at the sound of my
voice, his hand darting towards the desk
drawer, although he stopped when he
recognised me. "Christ, Sophia.
Sneaking up on people at four o'clock in
the morning in this particular house is a
really, really bad idea."
"Sorry."
He studied me. I could tell that part
of him simply wanted to send me away.
Every conversation between us now was

difficult, strangled by guilt and

uncertainty. But eventually he spoke.
"What do you mean, what I did for you?"
"The way you stood up to your
brothers when no one else wanted to
help rescue me."
He waved dismissively. "Ah, that.
It's not a big deal."
"That's not what Joe said. He said
it was quite the argument."
I walked inside and sat on the
surface of the desk. Sebastian was close
enough to reach out and touch now, and I
had to resist the urge to do just that. I
was doing a good job of keeping my fear
at bay, but that didn't mean it had fled. It
still simmered inside me, waiting for
another opportunity to boil over, and the

prospect of facing that alone was almost

too daunting to consider. Just being near
him soothed my shredded nerves.
"You broke the rules for me," I
continued. "In a pretty big way, from
what I understand."
His gaze was hard, radiating
intensity. I could almost feel the conflict
playing out inside him. "What else could
I have done, Sophia? I couldn't let them
take you."
"I thought the group came first."
He hesitated, then shook his head
slowly. "So did I."
We sat in silence for a few
moments. I think we both knew what was
coming. We couldn't avoid discussing

our relationship forever. I was still

afraid to do so, lest that wound tear open
inside me again, but knowing what he'd
done gave me a glimmer of hope.
Maybe, somehow, there was a way
through this.
"Sebastian, I"
"Don't," he said, rising to his feet
and putting some distance between us.
"We can't do this, Sophia." His voice
was sharp, almost pained.
"I have to know," I replied. "What
does all of this mean for us?"
He stormed towards me and I
jolted backwards. "There is no us. There
can't be. You've seen the sort of life I
lead. How can you even ask that?"
"I don't know," I said softly. "But

I'm asking all the same."

He closed his eyes and swept a
hand through his hair. "I nearly got you
killed. I don't understand how you're
even still talking to me."
A few days ago, I might have
agreed with him. Logically I knew I still
should. But logic had always taken a
back seat where he was concerned. Yes
he'd kept things from me, but I now
appreciated the full weight of those
secrets. Everything he'd done spoke of
how much he cared for me, and I
couldn't deny that my emotions burned
just as strongly. I could hold the situation
against him, or I could move on and try
to build something to go back to, after it

was over.
"I don't blame you, Sebastian. I did
in the beginning, but I don't now. You
couldn't have known. Yeah, if I hadn't
met you, none of this would have
happened, but then I'd never have met
you and, the truth is, that thought terrifies
me far more than any of this."
He stared at me with wide eyes,
his expression hovering somewhere
between anguish and awe. "How do you
do that?" he asked. It was barely more
than a whisper. "No matter what I do, no
matter how sure I am, you say just the
right thing to make me question myself."
A smile crept onto my face. "I'm
just that talented, I guess."
His expression softened a fraction,

but it didn't last long. "I can't keep

making these mistakes, Sophia. It's too
dangerous. Sure, I saved you this time,
but what about next time? Or the time
after? This life offers no guarantees. I
won't give it another opportunity to
claim you."
"So that's it, then? I don't even get
a say?" Moisture rushed to my eyes.
"Don't my feelings count for anything?"
"Of course they count," he
lamented, although he didn't seem to
know how to finish the sentence.
"So if we never had a chance, why
tell me all those things then?" I asked.
"Why bring me into your world? Why
slip into my room at night and comfort

me like nothing has changed?"

He shook his head desperately. "I
don't know. I don't know."
For a few moments there was
silence.
"Do you remember what you said
to me over dinner, the first time we went
out?" I asked eventually. "'Nothing worth
having comes risk free.' Well, that's how
I feel now." I got to my feet and moved
over to him, taking his hands in mine.
"I'm a big girl. I can make my own
decisions. I understand the risks, and I'm
telling you I'm okay with them. I love
you, Sebastian, and if that's the price for
being with you, then it's one I'm willing
to pay. The question is, are you?"
The surge of emotion on his face

mirrored my own. That was the first time

I'd said the L word out loud to him. It
hadn't been intentional, but the moment it
left my lips I knew it was true. It was so
perfectly right. I could feel it down to
my bones.
He closed his eyes momentarily.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted
to hear you say that. But not now. Not
now!" Pulling his hands free, he turned
away. "I don't know if I can keep fighting
this, Sophia. It hurts too much. Seeing
you every day, not being able to hold
you or kiss you or love you. It's ruining
me."
"So stop fighting."
For a few seconds, I thought I'd

lost him again, but then he was spinning

and his lips were crashing into mine.
I'd never been kissed like that, not
even by him. In that gesture, I could feel
every ounce of his guilt, his pain, his
love, and I found myself kissing back
just as ferociously, my own torrent of
emotions thundering through my chest.
The joy I felt was almost enough to make
me weep.
In a few seconds, he'd worked my
track pants free and lifted me back onto
the desk. No words were necessary.
Desperation and longing burned brighter
than the sun in both of us. I needed that
connection, that perfect affirmation that
said more than words ever could.
I was dimly aware that the door

was still open, but nothing in the world

could have stopped us at that moment.
We were utterly lost in one another.
With raw hunger, he yanked his fly
down, freeing his shaft, and then buried
himself inside me. My skin burned with
the suddenness of it, but I didn't care at
all. I savoured the pain because it came
from him, a stinging symbol of the bond
between us.
He moved slowly, coaxing my
body to life around him with gentle
thrusts. I mewed softly against his mouth,
feeling myself grow slick, but he didn't
break the kiss. He devoured me, drawing
my lips tenderly between his teeth and
stroking them with his tongue. His hands

found my legs, looping under my knees

to lift them higher, allowing him to
sheathe himself in me all the way to the
root.
Finally he pulled away, only to
bury his head against my neck. "Say it
again," he whispered, teasing me with a
slow rocking motion.
"I love you," I breathed.
"And I love you," he replied.
And then he was moving in me
again, his mouth tracing fire across my
collarbone, sending my capacity for
speech spiralling away. His thrusts
strengthened as the animal in him
gradually broke free of its cage. He
snarled against my chin, one hand
slipping between my legs to find my clit,

sending a new chord of ecstasy

thrumming through me.
His lovemaking was different now.
Every time before, I'd seen a new side of
him; sometimes dominant, sometimes
soft, sometimes hungry, but this was all
of those things together; fierce strength
combined with loving tenderness. I felt
like I was finally getting all of him, no
more shields, no more secrets, he was
finally letting it all go, and it was the
most beautiful thing I'd ever
experienced. In that moment I knew that I
was his and he was mine.
As his rhythm reached its
crescendo, the pressure building in my
core began to swell. I wrapped my

hands around his neck, fingers digging

into his flesh, his body tightening in time
with mine as we came together.
"God, I've missed you," he said,
laying his forehead against mine as we
caught our breath. Standing there above
me, dishevelled and bathed in sweat, he
looked absolutely radiant.
I nuzzled my nose against his. "Me
too."
We moved over to the bed and lay,
for a while, in each other's arms. The
bliss I felt in that moment almost made it
possible to forget everything that had
happened; we were just an ordinary
couple, snuggling together, after making
love.
"I love you," I said again, turning

to stare him in the eyes.

He smiled. "I'll never get sick of
hearing that." His expression slipped a
little, and I knew we were about to come
hurtling back to reality. "I hate to break
the moment, but we aren't done talking. If
we're really going to do this, there's
some things we need to think about."
"Okay," I replied cautiously, half
afraid he was going to go off the deep
end again.
He took his time choosing his
words. "Even when we get through
whatever is going on right now, I don't
know exactly how we make this work."
He raised his hand to cut off my
objections. "I'm not saying we don't try. I

can't deny this anymore, Sophia. I love

you, and for some stupid reason you
appear to return the feeling."
"I'm a slow learner, I guess," I
replied.
He shot me a half smile. "The fact
is, you're here and you're involved and
you know things you shouldn't know.
And my brothers... some of them are
already worried about you. They're
distracted now, but when things settle
down, and we're still together, they're
going to start asking questions of their
own, and I don't think they're going to
like the answers."
I'd been wondering about that. I
may have been saved from immediate
danger, but the longer I spent in the

Alpha house, the more I realised that I

wasn't as safe as I'd thought. I couldn't
just forget everything I'd seen, and these
people knew it. "So what do we do?"
He shook his head. "I don't know."
"You kind of make it sound like
we're doomed, no matter what."
"No, no, that's not what I meant."
He exhaled sharply. "I'll figure
something out. For now, we just need to
tread carefully. We both know a lot of
people don't approve of your presence
here, so let's not give them any reason to
take it further."
Once again I felt an uneasy feeling
settle in my stomach. "Are you sure
about the people who kidnapped me?" I

asked carefully. "Because if there's any

chance it was someone here, we might
wind up playing right into their hands."
"I'm sure," he said firmly. "These
men are my brothers. Besides, whoever
took you also killed Charlie and Simon.
Nobody here would do that."
His certainty put my mind at ease;
well, as at ease as was possible with
some kind of rogue terror group trying to
kidnap me. "You've used the word
'council' a few times," I said, spotting
another chance to sate my curiosity, "is
that like the Alpha board or something?
I've been trying to work out how you
make your decisions."
His jaw tightened a fraction. "I'm
not sure I should talk about that."

"Oh come on. They're already

going to be super angry if they find out
what you've told me so far, right? So
how much worse can it get?"
He hesitated, but eventually gave a
resigned smile. "I guess you have a
point. Yeah, in a nutshell, the council
runs things in this area; it's in control of
the Asia Pacific region. Other regions
are run by different groups."
"And you're on it?"
He nodded. "Almost everyone here
is, except the muscle, drivers, and house
staff."
"So that makes you kind of a big
deal, then?" I asked with a grin.
He laughed. "Kind of."

It made sense. I struggled to

picture Sebastian anywhere but the top
of the ladder, regardless of what he was
doing.
"So it's like a democracy? You all
just vote on everything?"
"Yes and no. For most decisions,
the whole council has a say, but
ultimately there still needs to be a
figurehead, to settle disputes and keep
the group operating smoothly. The
official title is Archon."
"Archon?" I said, raising an
eyebrow.
He shrugged. "Blame the Greeks.
We're stuck with it now."
I laughed. "And who is this

Archon?"
His face took on a strange
expression. "I don't know."
"You don't know?" I said slowly.
"How can you not know?"
"It's a secret, even amongst the
group. The heads of each cell have an
immense amount of power. For example,
they're the only people with access to the
full list of Alpha personnel worldwide.
If that sort of power fell into the wrong
hands, the damage would be
catastrophic. So they stay hidden, just in
case."
I licked my lips as I tried to
process this. "But how does that work?"
"Well, the council has sixteen
members, one of whom is in charge. By

all appearances, they are just a regular

member of the group. Anything that
requires their attention as the Archon is
dealt with through the Alpha computer
network. The commands come
anonymously, so nobody but the Archon
and their lieutenant know the source."
"Lieutenant?"
He nodded. "The Archon chooses
a second in command, someone to take
over if anything happens to them. They're
like a backup. Otherwise, there would
be no way to choose a new leader when
the existing one dies. The lieutenant is
the only other person that knows who
runs the show. It's a little eccentric, I
know, but it works."

"I was going to say paranoid,

actually."
"Maybe that too. We didn't always
do things this way, but about five
hundred years ago, one of our enemies
managed to infiltrate the group and,
through the Archon, they learned
everything. We lost hundreds of
members and years of progress. So we
devised a system to stop that happening
again."
It all seemed incredibly
mysterious, but then again, that was true
of the entire situation. Besides, on some
level, that just added to the coolness of it
all. I was basically living in a
conspiracy theory!

I couldn't help but smile as the full

implication of what he'd said sank in.
"So, when you said you didn't know,
was that you telling the truth, or you
toeing the company line?"
"That was me telling you I didn't
know," he replied, a twinkle in his eye.
"Right. But if you were in charge,
I'm guessing you probably wouldn't tell
me anyway, right?"
There was a twinkle in his eye
when he replied. "Perhaps not. I need to
keep some secrets, Sophia."
I sighed dramatically. "I suppose
that's fair. Well then, mister councilman,
what do we do now?"
I'd intended us to talk a little more

about the problems we faced, but

apparently he had something else in
mind. In response he gently rolled me
away from him, then pulling me close
until we were spooning. Although I still
wore my top, I was naked from the waist
down, and the position pressed my bare
ass against the growing hardness
between his legs. I felt my body stir
again.
"Now, we make up for lost time,"
he replied, his voice growing husky.
And despite the weight of the
discussion we'd just had, he quickly
convinced me that that was exactly what
I wanted to do.

CHAPTER SEVEN
Sophia
The next few days were a mixture
of frustration and joy. By night, I had
Sebastian back. We ate together, we
talked, and we spent a great deal of time
reacquainting ourselves with each
other's bodies. Although it hadn't been
that long since we'd been intimate, it felt
like I was discovering him for the first
time all over again.
However, while the sun was up,
things were different. As much as we

both wanted to just shut ourselves away

and ignore everything, the fact was,
Sebastian still had a job to do. The
threat whatever it was wouldn't
disappear on its own. If we wanted any
hope for some kind of normality in the
future, we had to take action.
Or should I say, he had to take
action. Although he tried to keep me in
the loop, my involvement was strictly
second hand. There was no way for me
to attend their meetings without putting
us both at risk. He'd return to his room,
which was now our room, and brief me
on what had happened that day. They had
a few leads, but so far they'd hit nothing
but brick walls. Aside from that they
apparently spent most of the time fighting

about what the next step was.

I tried to amuse myself while he
was gone, but it was hard. I wasn't used
to being left to my own devices. I hadn't
had more than a few days to myself since
high school. It didn't help that I was
confined to quarters. Until things were
safe, Sebastian insisted I did not leave
the building. I read a lot and watched
more TV than I had in my entire life, but
within a few days I felt dangerously
close to breaking point. I began having
visions of myself as one of those creepy
old ladies in Victorian period dramas,
who can be seen haunting the windows
of ancient manor houses, but never
venture out into open air.

Then there was the tension with the

group members. Ewan and his cronies
continued to make sure I was aware how
unwelcome I was. It wasn't outright
aggression, but the dark looks and biting
remarks told me exactly how they felt.
"Have they said anything about
us?" I asked Sebastian, after a
particularly bad day.
He frowned and shook his head.
"No, actually, they've been strangely
silent."
"So that's good, right?"
"I guess," he replied, although he
didn't sound convinced.
Most of the others didn't seem to
know how to react to me, so they simply

ignored my presence. And Joe, the only

one I assumed might have talked to me,
had gone overseas to attend to some
family problem. I felt a little like a
ghost, floating unseen and
unacknowledged, around that buzzing
house.
After several days, my boredom
got the better of me and I went in search
of a computer. I figured that if I had to
kill time, I could at least do it laughing at
cats with hilarious facial expressions.
Sebastian had a laptop, but he carried it
with him during the day. I'd seen a few
desktops scattered around the building,
and nobody ever seemed to be using
them, so I didn't think anyone would
mind.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as simple

as just sitting down and turning the
system on. The PC lit up when I hit the
power button, but the screen only got as
far as displaying a blinking cursor on a
black background, and no amount of
resetting or playing with the cables
would fix it.
I'd seen Sebastian power up his
laptop before, and at some point during
the process he always swiped his thumb
across the little biometric scanner that
hung off the side. This PC had one too,
sitting on the desk next to the keyboard.
Perhaps the system wouldn't start
without the right person in the chair.
Part of me wanted to swipe it

myself just to see what would happen. I

even got as far as poising my thumb over
the pad, but then a voice from the
doorway interrupted me.
"I wouldn't do that, if I were you."
I jolted back in my chair. It was
Trey. I hadn't seen him since the night I
arrived. Apparently he wasn't part of the
inner council, so he wasn't holed up here
with the rest of them.
"Sorry," I said.
"It's alright. No harm done. You're
just lucky I found you when I did. A
word of warning, though. Anything that
needs a thumbprint you should probably
stay away from."
In spite of my embarrassment, my
curiosity was now peaked. "Why?"

He smiled. "If you don't have the

right authentication, the whole system
will shut down until someone comes and
checks it out. I figure you could probably
do without that attention."
Well, that answered that question.
"Right. Thanks for the warning."
He stared at me for a few seconds,
and I felt my skin begin to prickle. It was
another of those awkward moments
where we were both aware I knew
something I shouldn't, but we weren't
discussing it. He didn't look concerned
at all, but it still made me
uncomfortable.
"So, what brings you here anyway?
I didn't expect to see you around these

parts," I said, trying desperately to fill

the silence.
He shrugged and gave a
conspiratorial eye roll. "Thomas needed
something. You know how it is; the
bosses call and we come a-running. Any
idea where he is?"
"Actually yeah, I think I saw him
chatting to Marcus in the kitchen,
before."
Trey's expression darkened a little.
Perhaps he and Marcus weren't on the
best terms. "Alright, thanks." His smile
returned. "Stay out of trouble, hey?"
I gave a little laugh. "I'll do my
best."
In spite of how awkward I'd felt, it
was nice to have an interaction with

Sebastian's colleague that didn't involve

any death stares. It made me feel like
perhaps there was hope yet on that front.
But, the next day, Sebastian came
to me with some news, and that theory
promptly went to shit.
"We're leaving," he said.
I rocked back in surprise. "We
are? Does that mean it's all over?"
He grimaced. "Unfortunately, no.
Several of the council members simply
feel like it would be better if you stayed
elsewhere until we finish sorting this
out." The words came out through gritted
teeth. I got the sense it had been another
long and bitter argument.
So, I was being exiled. On one

hand, it was actually a bit of a relief. I

was sick of being trapped here,
constantly feeling like the awkward
relative nobody actually wants around.
But, on the other hand, the danger
outside these walls was very real.
"I thought it wasn't safe out there,"
I said carefully.
He sighed. "It's not. But don't
worry, they're not sending you home. I
talked them into a compromise. This isn't
the only secure facility Alpha owns.
We've got several other places,
scattered around the city, so we're going
to move to one of the empty ones. It
won't be as heavily guarded as this
place, but it has all the same security
measures. We'll be just as safe as we are

now."
"Okay," I said, although there was
a slight tremble in my voice. What other
response could I give? There didn't seem
to be any point arguing.
He gazed at me for a few seconds
before lowering himself onto the bed
next to me and taking my hand in his.
"Hey, it'll be okay. Trust me. I'm coming
too, and I'd die before I let anything
happen to you."
I nodded. "I know. I just hate
feeling so damn powerless, you know?
I'm just a pawn, being shuffled around
the board; only it's not a game, it's my
bloody life."
"I know," he replied, offering me a

sad little smile. "I know."

The next day, we left. There was
no fanfare. Nobody even said goodbye. I
guess that was to be expected.
We were met outside by two
hulking rent-a-suits, who Sebastian
introduced as Tony and Aaron. They
were apparently going to be our daytime
security team.
He was coming with me now to
help me settle in, but he'd have to
commute back to the main house every
day to continue working on the crisis.
After about thirty minutes, we
pulled up in front of a small but modern
looking house on a quiet, leafy street. At
first glance it appeared utterly normal,
but the biometric scanner on the front

door and the bars over the windows

hinted that this was something more than
an average residence.
"They're bulletproof," he said,
following my gaze. "The doors too."
Reaching out, he thumbed the touch pad
by the front door, and the lock clicked
open. "Nobody is getting in here without
the proper authorisation. And to even
try, they have to deal with Tony and
Aaron first. The whole house will be
under round the clock surveillance."
Some of the tension I'd been
carrying around inside me dissipated.
The place certainly seemed as secure as
he'd claimed.
The two guards stationed

themselves outside, leaving the entire

house to Sebastian and I. It was nice to
finally feel like we had our own space
again. Despite its size, the main house
had, at times, felt cramped, and the
pervasive air of concern and hostility
had made it a less than pleasant living
environment.
Sebastian produced some
takeaway food from somewhere and we
ate it sprawled out in front of the
television, mocking the terribleness of
the reality shows that seemed to
dominate every network. It wasn't a
particularly interesting evening by most
standards, but I found myself laughing
harder than I had in weeks. Leaving the
Alpha headquarters had lifted a weight

from my shoulders that I hadn't even

realised I was carrying.
After dinner, Sebastian
disappeared into the back of the house
for a minute and returned carrying a box.
"I have something for you," he
said, his tone once again serious.
"Oh?"
He opened the container to reveal
a petite silver gun. My breath caught in
my throat. "I want you to have this," he
said, removing it and holding it out to
me.
"Sebastian, I don't know the first
thing about guns." Just the idea of having
something so deadly in my hands filled
me with an uneasy energy.

"I know. I'm not expecting you to

go take out our enemies all by yourself.
In truth, I doubt that you'll ever have to
use it. I meant what I said about this
place being secure. This is just a
precaution, nothing more." He reached
out with his free hand and cupped my
chin, his thumb grazing my cheek with
the utmost tenderness. "I can't be with
you all the time, and the thought of not
being here to protect you myself...
please, it would make me feel better."
The concern in his eyes was
enough to allay my hesitation. Gingerly, I
reached out and took the weapon from
him. It's clich, but it was surprisingly
heavy. The metal felt cold against my

skin.
"This is the safety," he said,
indicating near the trigger. "Don't switch
that off unless you mean it. The gun
carries thirteen rounds and is already
loaded."
Closing my hands more tightly
around the grip, I raised it slowly in
front of me. I didn't have any illusions
about my ability to actually hit anything,
but I did feel a certain sense of comfort
with that weight between my fingers.
"Okay." Holding death in my hand,
I suddenly felt the need to make a joke.
"You know, I'm pretty sure none of my
friend's partners have ever given them a
lethal weapon before. I'm surely the
luckiest girl in the whole world."

The tension eased on his face. "I'm

glad I could be your first."
"So, what else is there to do
around this place?" I asked, setting the
weapon aside. "You know, besides play
with my new firearm."
"Not a whole lot." He grinned
wickedly and slid closer, looping his
hands under my legs and lifting them
over his lap until I lay cradled in his
arms. "Although I have a few ideas
about how we can take advantage of our
newfound privacy."
"Oh? And what might those be?" I
replied as sweetly as possible.
He leaned in to brush a soft kiss
across my cheek. "Well, I thought

perhaps I'd see how many different

rooms I could fuck you in."
"I think I'd like that very much," I
replied, already feeling my pulse
quicken.
Suffice it to say that there were no
rooms left unchristened by the time we
finally collapsed into bed.

CHAPTER EIGHT
Sophia
For a little while, the novelty of
being somewhere fresh buoyed my
mood. I explored the new house, and
spent many hours pottering around with a
glass of wine and a book. But soon
enough, my frustration returned. Each
morning, Sebastian would kiss me on the
head and then disappear through the
bedroom door, not returning until well
after sundown. In many ways, he had
little more freedom than me, but at least

he had a mission. I, on the other hand,

was left to simply float around, entirely
without purpose.
I tried engaging the security guards
in a little banter, but it quickly became
apparently that all of the steroids must
have burned their fun glands into
oblivion. They were about as friendly as
a pair of rocks, and even less interesting;
I quickly abandoned all hope of
alleviating my boredom through
conversation.
At my request, Sebastian had
brought me a laptop, so I turned to
surfing job hunting websites online. I
knew it was masochistic to taunt myself
like that, but I couldn't help it. After a
decade of thinking about nothing but my

career, I couldn't just switch off that part

of my brain. To be honest, I wasn't sure
there were many other parts anymore. It
turned out there were several positions
going at top tier firms, including one at
Little Bell's biggest rival. Any one of
them would have been perfect for me,
and I knew I stood a good chance if I
decided to apply.
I stared at the screen for a while,
before closing the laptop and setting it
purposefully aside. Well, there you go.
Who knows, maybe they'll still be
available in a few weeks and all this
will have blown over.
But as I lay in bed that night, I
couldn't stop thinking about what I'd

found. Getting back to work was exactly

what I needed. With all day to myself, I
couldn't help but dwell on my situation.
Being unemployed and trapped in a
house, with mysterious forces plotting
God knows what all around me, was
hardly a recipe for inner peace.
"You know, I'm going a little crazy
here," I said the next day, when we were
sitting in the lounge room after dinner.
He shot me a sympathetic look. "I
know it's rough. Hopefully we'll have
something soon. In the meantime, try to
relax and enjoy the time off."
"Have you seen me try to relax?" I
replied. "It's a train wreck. Yesterday I
actually rearranged every book in the
study by author name, just to feel like I'd

actually achieved something for the

day."
He laughed.
"Incidentally, you have an awful
lot of cook books from the fifties in
there. Anyway, relaxation isn't my M.O,"
I continued. "I need to be out there,
getting my life back on track. The longer
I wait to find another job, the harder it's
going to be. I get that the situation is
dangerous, but I want something to come
back to when it's all over."
He stared at me for several
seconds, a strange smile playing on his
lips.
"What?" I asked, realising that
something wasn't right. He shouldn't

have been smiling.

He opened his mouth, then closed
it again, before standing up and walking
over to his desk. "I was going to wait
until after all of this was sorted out, but I
guess there's no harm in showing you
now."
"Showing me what?" I asked,
feeling a rush of excitement.
He returned holding a small stack
of paper.
"This," he said. "I know you have a
thing about people helping you, but
hopefully you can make an exception in
this case."
With some trepidation I began to
read, but before I'd made it more than
half a page I found myself grinning like

an idiot. "Oh my God," I said. "Where

did you get these?"
"A friend of a friend," he replied
nonchalantly.
"Well your friend struck gold," I
said, flipping through several more
pages. "My God, the partners are going
to flip when they see this."
In my hands, I held a printout of a
chain of emails that stretched back over
several years. Sebastian and I were no
strangers to a bit of written flirtation, but
these took the idea of sexting to a whole
new level. We're talking bad eighties
porno script, and judging by the
phrasing, it was just a prelude to what
the couple were actually doing in the

bedroom.
The email addresses weren't
instantly familiar they looked like
personal accounts but the signatures
were.
Alan Beatie and Jennifer Smart.
"I thought you'd be pleased,"
Sebastian replied.
That was the understatement of the
century. A long term relationship
between an associate and her superior
was already enough to land them in
serious trouble, but this went a step
further. Interspersed between the racier
messages were numerous requests for
favours and plenty of signs of
preferential treatment. Judging by the
dates, their arrangement had started

before Jennifer was even promoted. It

didn't take a genius to see how the other
partners would view that. It felt like
Christmas come early.
And then I spotted the coup de
grace. "Holy shit." I held up one specific
line for him to read. "Did you see this?"
He grinned and nodded.
Thank you for finally dealing with
that little bitch Sophia. I'm sure I can
think of a few creative ways to reward
you ;)
It was morbidly gratifying to
finally see her talk about me the way I
always suspected she did. The prim,

sweet girl that roamed our office

building was nowhere in sight, here.
These emails were Jennifer unfiltered,
and it showed exactly what a nasty piece
of work she really was. Although my
name came up most frequently, she
seemed to have a grudge against almost
everyone who posed even a vague threat
to her advancement up the ladder. For a
brief moment, I actually felt bad for her,
for being so insecure, but that was
quickly crushed under a torrent of
glorious satisfaction at knowing she was
finally going to get what she deserved.
"I knew they couldn't have had a
decent reason for firing you."
I nodded, still mesmerised by the
words in front of me. "You think it'll be

enough to get my job back?"

"Definitely. These make it pretty
clear that there was more to your
dismissal than the quality of your work."
I realised I was grinning like an
idiot. "I'll go first thing tomorrow," I
said, already playing the confrontation
through in my head.
His expression dropped a fraction.
"I'd rather you wait until we've dealt
with our other problem. It's still
dangerous out there."
For a second, I thought I'd
misheard. "You seriously expect me to
sit on this? Why give it to me at all?"
He shrugged uncomfortably. "You
seemed upset. I thought it might make

you feel better knowing you can wander

back into Little Bell when this is all
over."
"And what am I meant to do in the
meantime? Keep twiddling my thumbs
around here? Look, I'm not downplaying
the risk. I know it's not safe, but the truth
is, we have no idea how long this is
going to take. Sure, it could be a week,
but it could be a month, or two, or six.
Who's to say they're even going to show
their faces again, without an
opportunity?" I closed my eyes briefly,
trying to rein in my emotions. I felt like a
hormonal teenage girl again, flitting from
jubilant to angry to upset in the blink of
an eye. "I need something Sebastian.
Being stuck here is killing me pardon

the pun. Surely we can find a way to

make it work? You go to and from work
every day and you're still in one piece."
His jaw tightened and he glanced
away. "That's true." He pondered for a
while. "I'm sorry." Sliding closer, he
pulled me against him and leaned down
to kiss my hair. "I just find the idea of
leaving you exposed terrifying. But
you're right, this isn't fair on you. How
about this: you go in there tomorrow and
kick some ass, and once you have your
job back, Aaron and Tony will take you
to and from the office every day. As long
as you don't leave the building, you'll be
fine. Several thousand witnesses should
be enough to deter anyone from trying

anything."
I found myself grinning once more.
"Not to mention building security. You,
sir, have a deal." Snuggling in against
his chest, I began reading over the
emails again. "God, I can't wait to see
her smarmy little face."

*****

"Hello, Jennifer," I said in my

sweetest voice, as I peeked my head
around her door.
For a brief second, shock
registered on her face, although it was
gone in an instant. "Sophia. What a

pleasant surprise. I thought you were

still on leave."
"I was. I just dropped in to deliver
something to Mr Bell."
Her brow furrowed. I think she
could tell by my demeanour that
something wasn't quite right, but she
didn't know what. "That seems...
unorthodox."
"Oh, I know. I wouldn't have
bothered him, except I recently came
into possession of some information that
I knew he'd want to see."
"Oh?" She sounded uncomfortable,
which only made my smile grow. I knew
it was petty and childish, but it felt
indescribably satisfying to finally be

able to toy with her as she had so many

times with me.
"Yeah. It's a bit of a scandal,
actually." I leaned in close, as though
sharing a secret with a friend.
"Apparently, one of the partners has
been fooling around with a senior
associate. I got a look at the emails
they've been sending each other. Some of
the things they've been writing... well,
graphic doesn't even began to describe
them. But the worst part? He's been
doing her all kinds of favours around the
office. He even gave her a promotion
after a weekend away together. Pretty
shocking, right? You think your work is
what's important, and then you hear
about something like this. It's enough to

make you sick."

The expression on her face was
priceless. Her eyes were open so wide I
thought they might pop out of her head,
and her mouth worked soundlessly, as
though she might somehow still be able
to argue her way out of the situation. She
looked like one of those rotating
carnival clowns.
For a few seconds I simply stood
and enjoyed. "Anyway, as you can
imagine, Mr Bell is taking the matter
very seriously. The partner is in with
him right now I believe, and he should
be calling the associate any moment. I
can't imagine either of them have much
longer with the company."

In a piece of spectacularly
fortunate timing, at that exact moment,
Jennifer's phone began to ring.
"Oh, you have a call," I said. "I'll
let you go, then. Just wanted to share the
news. Have a nice day."
I don't know how I did it, but I
managed to turn around and leave
without letting out a cheer, although
internally I was giving myself a million
high fives. Even Jennifer herself would
have been proud of that performance. It
had been as chirpy and fake as any act of
hers.
I could have been the bigger
woman and let that be the end of it, but
after years of torture, the moral high

ground was the last thing on my mind.

This was my moment and I was going to
enjoy the hell out of it. After a brief visit
to see what had become of my office, I
hunted Elle down and dragged her out
into the main foyer to wait with me.
"Oh. My. God," she said, when I
relayed what had happened. "You're my
fucking hero. What did she say when you
told her?"
"Nothing. She just sat there
growing redder and redder, like
someone was pumping her full of hot
air."
She laughed. "Christ, I wish I'd
been there to see it. That must have been
the most satisfying thing in the world."
"It was pretty amazing," I replied.

"How the hell did you get access

to her email, anyway?"
I shrugged. "I didn't. Some
mysterious little bird forwarded them to
me."
"You're kidding, right?"
I shook my head. It was a pretty
flimsy lie, but ironically it was more
believable than the truth. Oh, yeah, my
boyfriend is part of a secret society
that hacked Jennifer's email. That
would go down a treat. "They just
showed up in my inbox the other day."
She shook her head in disbelief.
"Well, apparently you have a fairy
godmother looking out for you."
I couldn't help but grin at the

Cinderella reference. "You know, maybe

I do."
At that moment, Jennifer appeared
around the corner, escorted by building
security. She was the picture of a sudden
firing; eyes blank, skin deathly white,
possessions clutched listlessly in a
cardboard box against her chest. There
had been no dancing around the issue
with her, no feints involving temporary
leave to ease the blow. She'd been
summarily let go, and company policy
dictated that she had to leave
immediately. There was too much
sensitive information at stake to allow
ex-employees to linger.
She did her best to maintain the
veneer of superiority, although the

smeared mascara running below her

eyes certainly detracted from the effect,
and the moment she saw me her
expression crumpled. I'd positioned
myself perfectly, exactly where she'd
stood during my walk of shame. There
was nothing sweet about my smile this
time. I let loose with everything I had. I
even threw in my most sarcastic wave
for good measure.
Elle was a little more direct.
"Seeya, bitch," she said, as they swept
past and into the lift. Jennifer flinched as
if struck.
As the doors closed, Elle drew a
deep breath and smiled. "Is it just me, or
does the air smell a little sweeter in here

all of a sudden?"
I sniffed pointedly. "You know, I
think it does. Must be the lack of
bullshit."
She laughed. "So, please tell me
this means you're coming back? This
place is a bore without you."
"It will likely be a bore either
way. But yeah, I'm back. Apparently they
were getting ready to make my leave
more permanent this week, so the timing
is perfect. I'm still on the books, so we
don't even have to do any paperwork."
Elle clapped. "Awesome. Surely
this calls for a celebration?"
I winced, remembering Sebastian's
rules. As appealing as an old-school
office bender sounded, it wasn't safe.

"Let me settle back in and then we'll

talk. Okay?"
She looked a little disappointed,
but didn't question. "Sure. Well, thanks
for inviting me to the show, but I should
get back to it. Wrights won't prosecute
itself."
"No problem. Seeya round."
Once she'd disappeared around the
corner, I took a moment just soaking in
my surroundings. That might seem like a
strange thing to do I mean, for all its
prestige, it was really just an office
but after having given the bulk of the last
six years to Little Bell, sometimes it felt
more like home than my own house.
When Sebastian had handed me those

pages, I'd been fairly confident it would

be enough to get me back in the door, but
I hadn't been certain until now. I was
back. At least one part of the nightmare
was over.
It didn't take me long to find my
feet again. After letting everyone know I
was available again, work quickly began
to flow in. In just a few hours, I was
once again neck deep in case files.
Ordinarily that might have had me
slightly frazzled, but today, I couldn't
wipe the smile off my face.
Surprisingly, Sebastian was
waiting for me when we got back. Most
days he didn't return until well after
dinner.
"I wanted to be here when you got

back from your first day," he said when I

asked. He held a bottle of champagne in
his hands, and there were two glasses
laid out on the bench in front of him.
"Aww, that's very sweet of you," I
said, leaning in for a lingering kiss. "But
you didn't have to go to all this trouble.
It's not like I got a new job. It's the same
one I always had."
"That doesn't make it any less
worth celebrating." He gave a wolfish
grin. "Besides, I felt like champagne."
I laughed. "Ah, now the truth
comes out."
He poured and then we settled into
the couch.
"So, how was it? Everything went

well?"
"You could say that. Evil was
vanquished, order restored and all that
good stuff."
"I'm glad to hear it. It must feel
nice to be back."
I nodded. "Hell yes it does. I can
honestly say, I don't think I've ever been
so happy to be so busy in my life."
"I'm glad."
"Ernest also dropped a few not so
subtle hints about 'recently vacated
positions' that might need to be filled."
His face lit up and he pulled me in
for a hug. "Congratulations! That's
wonderful."
"It is, isn't it?"
"I bet you'd have been promoted

years ago if not for those two," he said.

"You'll be running that place one day,
mark my words."
"Yeah, then maybe I'll have the
credentials to join Alpha myself."
He gave a wry shake of his head.
"You'd seriously want to do that, having
seen what you've seen?"
"I don't know. It's not like it hasn't
entered my mind. If you ignore all the
guns and kidnappings and such, it is
pretty cool." I took a sip of champagne.
"Besides, it would certainly solve one of
our current predicaments."
"I suppose it would."
"How exactly does one join
anyway? Joe said he kind of just plucked

you out of the army."

His smile gained a hint of
nostalgia. "He told you about that, hey?
Yeah, I'm not sure what I would have
done if he hadn't found me. I was pretty
lost, up until that point. Now I've
actually got a purpose.
"As for recruitment, there's no one
way. You get people like Thomas, who
just work ridiculously hard in their
chosen field until we can't help but
notice them. He made an absolute killing
working for one of the big oil
companies, before we found him. And
then you've got the guys like Trey, who
just get in on their family name."
"Ooh, trust fund baby, is he? I had
no idea. He doesn't seem like that much

of a dick."
Sebastian laughed. "He's fine, most
of the time, although to be honest, a
bunch of us didn't want to accept his
application. We like to recruit people on
their merits, not their bloodline, but his
dad was a member before him, and he
desperately wanted his son to follow in
his footsteps. I think it was one of those
old money tradition things. Anyway, he
pulled some strings and had enough
friends that eventually he got his way.
Keep that to yourself, though."
"Yeah, sure. I guess since my
family has all the eminence of a
McNugget Happy Meal, I'll have to go
the hard working route."

His expression lost a little of its

playfulness. "Let's cross that bridge if
we get there, hey?"
I wasn't really sure if I was being
serious, but the idea seemed to distress
him, so I decided to drop it.
The next few days took on a
strangely comfortable quality. If you
ignored the nightmarish backdrop,
Sebastian and I almost looked like an
ordinary, wholesome, professional
couple. Each day we'd race through a
quick breakfast together before heading
to our respective offices. We'd slave
away for ten hours or so, occasionally
calling each other to whisper sweet
nothings, before returning home and

spending a few hours in front of the TV

or making love, and then collapsing into
bed and doing it all again. I'd never
really pictured myself being in a long
term relationship, but if I had, that was
basically how it would have gone. Only
the occasional harried expression on
Sebastian's face and the presence of our
little security team managed to shatter
the illusion of normality.
Of course, things were far from
fixed. Work was a welcome distraction,
but it didn't quite temper the edginess
that I seemed to carry around with me
permanently, now. In fact, if anything, it
made it worse. Logically, I knew that
nothing was likely to happen. My
building was swarming with people until

well past dinner time every night, and

my bodyguards met me just feet from the
front door. Someone would have to be
incredibly bold or incredibly stupid to
try anything there. But, nonetheless, I
couldn't shake the sensation that I was
constantly being watched. It made me
jumpy and agitated.
Sebastian seemed to recognise that
I was struggling, because he was really
putting in a ton of effort. Between the
sexy texts and cute little gifts he had
delivered to my office I'm not afraid
to admit that I'm a sucker for a bunch of
red roses I was actually feeling rather
spoilt. And then he delivered the coup
de grace.

On Saturday, I arrived at home to

find a note on the kitchen counter.
Despite the fact that there was nobody
else living there, he'd addressed it like
all the others. Sophia. Unlike his last
letter, this one sent a wave of excitement
shooting though me. He was back to his
old tricks.
With eager fingers, I unfolded it.
Dear Sophia.
I may be a little later than normal
tonight. Hopefully you can excuse me. I
know things have been a little difficult
lately, so I've decided we need a nice
romantic night together. I'd like you to

set up a few things for me before I get

home.
In the freezer you'll find a bag of
ice. Take it into the bedroom and fill
the bucket that's on the dresser. There's
a bottle of champagne next to it which
I'd like you to chill.
In the bedroom you'll also find a
box of matches and several candles.
There's nothing like a little mood
lighting. Light them and scatter them
around the room.
Finally, on the bed is an item I
believe you will remember fondly. After
you've removed everything else you're
wearing, put it on and then wait for me
on the bed lying face down.
I'll see you soon.

-S
I found myself biting my lip as I
read, my skin already prickling with
heat. The scene he described was
basically the epitome of romance, but the
heavy, commanding tone with which he
wrote was unmistakable. There was
more afoot here than was immediately
obvious. It had been a while since one of
his letters, long enough to make me
heady with anticipation.
After ducking quickly to the
freezer, I made a beeline for the
bedroom, already suspecting that I knew
what I'd find. I wasn't let down. If I'd

had any doubts that tonight would be

more kinky than our recent sessions, they
vanished the moment my eyes fell on the
bed. Lying on the quilt was the blindfold
Sebastian had originally left for me in
the hotel several months ago. Just
thinking about that night sent something
warm surging between my legs. The
sting of his hand, the bite of the rope;
that had been the night when everything
changed. I'd gone in one woman and
come out another.
Placing the champagne inside the
bucket I buried it in ice, then lit the
candles and dimmed the light. I had to
admit, the scene did look incredibly
romantic. After stripping, I knelt on the
bed and wrapped the black silk around

my head, knotting it firmly at the back.

Last time I'd been hesitant, even a little
frightened, but now could barely contain
my excitement. Sebastian had taught me
well the pleasure of sensory deprivation.
For a while I lay, enjoying the
silence as anticipation rose inside me. I
knew the wait was part of the
experience. My wandering mind was
winding me up as effectively as any
foreplay. Would it be another spanking?
More restraint? Or did he have other
tricks up his sleeve?
It could have been fifteen minutes
or an hour, I'm not sure, but eventually, I
heard the tell-tale click of the front door
unlocking. My body tensed. I assumed

he'd come straight to me, but everything

remained silent. I realised I'd left the
bedroom door open and the floors here
were carpeted, meaning I'd have no
indication when he finally arrived. He
could have been in the room at that very
moment.
I squirmed a little, as some strange
amalgamation of discomfort and desire
lodged itself in my stomach. That was
one of my favourite parts of discovering
my submissive side; the realisation that
other emotions besides arousal could be
a turn on too. I felt more in tune with
myself than ever before.
It doesn't matter if he's here yet
or not. He told me to wait, and so wait I
will. He'll come when he's ready.

I held my position.

CHAPTER NINE
Sebastian
She flinched a little when I
entered, although I hadn't made a sound.
Perhaps some subtle shift in the air had
given me away. Or perhaps she simply
knew me too well. Regardless, she
continued to lie still and silent.
I had no idea how she'd become
such an amazing sub in such a short time.
We hadn't delved into anything too kinky
for a while, but seeing her like that made
me desperate to do it more. There's

something so erotic about coming home

to a girl presenting herself for you,
exactly as you instructed. She'd followed
my directions to the letter: the
champagne was chilling, the candles
were lit, and the blindfold was in place.
I spent a few moments just taking
in the sight of her. She was absolutely
stunning; her hair was splayed out across
her back like a chestnut river, her
creamy skin bathed in candle light. I'd
never seen a woman with a more
gorgeous figure; perfectly proportioned
curves but not an ounce more fat than
necessary. Just being near her naked
body had my blood rushing in my veins.
She didn't even jump when I spoke.
"Well, isn't this romantic."

She gave a little laugh. "Is it?

You'll have to fill me in. I'm having a
little trouble seeing right now." It was
funny, although my comment had been
fairly innocuous, there was something
different about her voice. It was softer,
more compliant. The change occurred
whenever we made love, whether there
was kink involved or not. I don't even
think she realised it was happening, as
though she simply slipped from one
persona to the other, automatically. I
was amazed she'd never realised her
predilection before. She was a natural.
I walked over and dragged a hand
gently down her back. So soft, like
stroking silk. She trembled a little, but

otherwise didn't move.

"I have something special planned
tonight," I said. "Something new."
"I suspected as much," she replied.
"I don't suppose you're going to tell me
what it is, though?"
I chuckled. "Now where would be
the fun in that?"
I moved over to the dresser and
withdrew a bottle I'd stashed there
earlier. "Have I told you how gorgeous
you are today?" I asked.
Her lips quirked up. "Not in at
least ten hours."
"Then I have been remiss," I
replied, moving closer. "I have to admit,
I've been thinking about this all day. I
could barely wait to get my hands on this

body again."
"Your hands have been on this
body a lot lately."
I slipped onto the bed and
straddled her legs. "Not like this," I
replied, popping the cap and squeezing a
large drop of massage oil onto her back.
She twitched and let out a little
noise of surprise, but it quickly morphed
into a groan as my hands began to work
across her skin. "God, a girl could get
used to this after work."
She wasn't the only one enjoying
herself. The sight of her skin, slick and
shining, was like a shot of testosterone
straight to my veins, and she felt
magnificent between my fingers. I

kneaded my way slowly up and down

her back, paying attention to each
individual muscle. In my younger days,
in a spontaneous attempt to impress a
woman, I'd taken a massage class, and
while I was a little rusty, with a little
trial and error I found the sort of
pressure and pace Sophia liked. More
than a few areas felt tight, so I spent
extra time on them, enjoying the
sensation of her gradually melting
beneath me.
The lower I moved down her
body, the deeper her noises became, the
mood gradually shifting from sensual to
sexual. Applying more oil I began
working the firm globes of her ass
slowly, occasionally dipping close to

her sex but taking pains not to actually

make contact. She shifted, letting out
several little whimpers, but didn't voice
any objection. Seeing that restraint got
me so ridiculously hard. Only a month
ago, she'd already be begging for me to
touch her there. She'd beg eventually, I'd
make sure of it, but the fact that she held
back now showed how far her selfcontrol had come.
I had no doubt that she knew there
was more to the evening than a simple
massage we'd been together long
enough for my surprises to be truly
unexpected anymore but I was still
looking forward to what came next. I
love that sense of unpredictability, of

taking my partner into unknown territory.

The uncertainty of it heightens
everything. I could almost feel the
anticipation vibrating through her body.
"You have magic hands," she said,
when I finally pulled them away.
"I'm glad you enjoyed the warm
up."
She paused. "Warm up for what?"
Her voice was breathy, with the barest
current of trepidation flowing through it.
So fucking sexy.
Rather than answer, I leaned
across to the side table and scooped up
one of the candles. "Do you trust me?" I
asked.
There was no hesitation this time.
"Yes." After everything that had

happened in the last few weeks, it was

amazing to hear such certainty. I had no
idea where she found the strength to
forgive me, let alone trust me again. That
trust was the most important thing in the
world to me now, and I'd die before I
breached it again.
"Good. I want you to extend your
arms and press your palms against the
headboard. I'm not going to bind you this
time. It will be up to you to restrain
yourself. If your hands move before I say
so, there will be consequences.
Understand?"
She nodded.
"Okay, this will be hot."
And before she had a chance to

speak, I tilted the candle slightly,

sending a small glob of wax tumbling
onto the small of her back. Her body
arched and she let out a short cry.
"Too hot?" I asked.
She assessed for a few seconds.
"No, just unexpected." She let out a little
laugh. "Is that wax?"
"Yes."
"I was wracking my brains trying
to work out what you might do, but I
didn't even consider the candles."
I grinned. "That was the plan."
"Well, it feels good," she said, as I
poured again. Gradually, I worked my
way across her body, varying the height
and size of the drops to create different
temperatures. There was something so

artful about the act of covering her like

that, the redness of the wax in stark
contrast to the whiteness of her flesh.
And the way she reacted, the little sighs
and tremors that passed through her as
the liquid hardened against her skin, had
me aroused nearly to the point of pain.
At the angle she was lying, I could see
the lips of her pussy, nestled
tantalisingly between those perfect
cheeks, and in my head I was already
playing through what it would be like
when I was finally inside her. That
divine warmth and maddening softness,
the way her body would tremble and her
voice would break as I took her, forcing
her towards climax.

I began using my free hand to

shape the wax, dragging my fingers
through it, enjoying the heat and the
sensation of her skin. She seemed to like
that a lot. Soon, the whole bottom half of
her back was a vibrant haphazard
crosshatching of crimson.
"You must be making quite a mess
back there," she said.
"You look beautiful," I replied.
"But we're just getting started."
Setting the candle down and
climbing free of her, I stepped over to
the dresser and scooped up the
champagne holder. Now that she was
clued in to the game, she understood
almost immediately.

"Oh god," she said, as I straddled

her once more. Leaning down, I brushed
a kiss softly against the back of her neck
while reaching into the bucket.
"Now this, this will be cold."
She was trembling before I even
touched her, but that first moment was
like electricity, her body convulsing as I
pressed the ice cube against her.
Watching intensely for any sign of real
discomfort, I began to trace the cube
down her spine. She continued to
wriggle, her breath hitching, but the
noises slipping from her mouth were
those of pleasure. Being a dom is always
a bit like walking a tight rope; you're
constantly pushing your partner's limits,

trying new things, and it can be

incredibly easy to accidentally slip
across the murky line between enjoyment
and genuine distress. Temperature play,
in particular, is a sensitive activity, but
Sophia appeared to be loving it.
The ice melted quickly, her body
still radiating residual heat, so I took
another piece and repeated the path, this
time trailing my tongue behind on her
chilled skin.
She let out a long sigh.
"You like that?"
She nodded. "The contrast is
amazing. Keep going."
And so I did, slowly traversing the
still clean portions of her body,
savouring the taste of her, the texture of

her skin, the feminine scent that filled my

nostrils until she dominated my senses.
"Let's try both together," I said.
Her sounds grew louder as I began
to alternate hot and cold, stroking with
ice then chasing with wax. When the
cube was nearly melted down I let it sit
in place and tipped the candle directly
over it, sending a stream of icy water
swirled with crimson heat flowing down
her side.
Now that she was in the zone, it
was time for the main event. Stashing the
candle again I took another cube, this
time focusing on her ass. Slowly I
circled each cheek, making no effort to
ease the chill. The skin down there is

more sensitive, and she shivered and

twitched at my touch. Soon her entire ass
was slick and goose pimpled.
"Should I go lower?" I asked.
"Yes," she breathed.
She inhaled sharply as I slipped
my hand between her cheeks, rolling the
tiny nub of ice softly around the
puckered rosette inside.
"Jesus Christ."
"I still want to fuck you here you
know," I said, slipping one chilled finger
just half an inch inside her, drawing a
short gasp from her lips. "Maybe
tonight?" I left the question hanging in
the air. I already knew it wouldn't be
now. I'd have her there eventually I
intended to have all of her, everything

she could give but not tonight. Of

course, that didn't mean I couldn't plant
the seed, make her wonder.
I slipped the ice lower still.
Parting her legs, I stroked it gently
across her inner thighs, gradually
working my way towards her pussy. She
was incredibly turned on by this point.
The scent of her excitement filled the air,
and her lips were glistening despite the
fact that I'd yet to use the ice there. I
desperately wanted to slip my finger into
that softness, to bury my tongue in it and
lick her until she couldn't even speak,
but I restrained myself. I found the act of
forcing self-control extremely exciting.
Waiting now meant more pleasure for

both of us later. That said, I'd never

found waiting so difficult as when I had
her in front of me.
Every time my hand drifted closer
to her sex, her hips bucked a little more
wildly.
"Do you want me to touch you?" I
asked.
"Yes," she replied, no longer
making any effort to disguise the desire
in her voice.
"You'll have to do better than that."
"Please, Sebastian, please touch
my clit."
I poised my hand above the
entrance to her sex, my fingers splayed
around it, the ice pressed just above her
entrance. I love the rush of power I feel

at moments like that. For me, kink has

never been about the pain or the taboo,
it's about power and intimacy. This
beautiful woman had given herself over
to me. She'd put her pleasure entirely in
my hands. Nothing is more intimate than
that.
"You have done very well," I said,
brushing the ice ever so gently along her
slit. "But there's one more thing I want to
do first."
She let out a groan of
disappointment, but it quickly cut off as I
began cupping and kneading her ass.
God, it was so firm, so perfect. I could
have played with just that part of her for
hours. But I didn't want to lose the effect

of what I'd just done. Her skin was still

icy and wet, and it made a delicious
cracking noise as I slapped my palm
gently against it.
Instantly her body tensed. She
knew what that symbolised, and although
I'd spanked her once before, it was some
time ago. I didn't blame her for being a
little fearful.
"But I kept my hands exactly where
you told me to!" she said.
I laughed. There was still plenty of
vanilla in her. "I know. This isn't a
punishment. It's a reward." I leaned in
close, stroking her skin tenderly.
"Remember how much you enjoyed
being spanked last time? Remember how
wet it made you?"

She swallowed loudly, her cheeks

flushing pink, but after a few seconds
she nodded.
"Good. You can lift up your hands
now and get onto your knees."
She did as I asked, the smallest
tremor evident in her movements.
Sliding in next to her, I wrapped my
hands around her hips and lifted her over
my lap until she lay, bent over my knees,
across the bed.
I took a moment to admire her in
that position. I could feel the heat of her
arousal radiating onto my thigh. She was
so sexy and so strong, yet she allowed
herself to be so vulnerable. It was one of
the most erotic things I'd ever seen.

"Wonderful. Are you ready?"

She drew a long breath, then
nodded.
"Say it."
"I'm ready to be spanked." It was
barely more than a whisper.
Those words were music to my
ears. "Okay."
And without further ado, I pulled
my hand away and brought it whipping
back against her left cheek. The crack
was much louder this time, ringing
throughout the room. She bit back a cry.
"It will sting more this time
because of the cold," I told her, pausing
to admire the small red circle that was
blooming on her skin. "That's part of the
fun of temperature play, it sets all your

nerves into overdrive."

I started softly, easing her into it,
alternating from side to side and
soothing each cheek with a gentle rub
before continuing. I kept my pace
uneven, never pausing the same amount
of times between blows, never allowing
her to develop a rhythm. With the
blindfold on, she was constantly
guessing.
Her body flinched with every
blow, her breath coming short and sharp,
but the pitch of her cries and the quirk of
her mouth told me all I needed to know.
"Are you enjoying that?" I asked,
landing a slightly harder slap.
"Yes," she replied, her voice thick

with lust.
"Shall I smack you harder?"
She nodded quickly, now utterly
shameless.
My next blow was stronger, and
she yelped as it landed, driving her
crotch into my leg and sending a pulse of
pleasure shooting through my own body
as she pressed against my cock.
I sped up, losing myself in the
moment. With every blow she grew
more excited, and that in turn stoked my
own arousal. There's something
intoxicating about the connection I feel
during a scene like that. The trust, the
sensuality, the vortex of sensations; it's a
potent cocktail.
Soon, her entire ass was rosy and

glowing. I paused, parting her cheeks

with my hand, mesmerised by the
wetness between. Unable to resist, I
punctuated my next smack by slipping a
finger from my free hand inside her. She
let out a long moan, a sound of pure
animal pleasure, as all her muscles
clenched tight around me.
"Christ, look how turned on you
are," I said.
She writhed beneath me as I
explored her, revelling in the way her
body hummed as I stroked her G-spot.
I'd been with a lot of other women, but
none looked so perfectly alluring in their
pleasure as she did. Something about her
just sent all of my blood rushing south.

Slipping my finger free, I left it

poised against her entrance, and then
smacked her again. "Do you think I
should keep going?"
"Please," she replied, sounding
almost pained.
Stroking the outside of her sex
softly, I leaned down close to her head,
planting a slow kiss below her ear,
letting her answer hang in the air just
long enough to make her unsure.
Then, when the quick little breaths
falling from her lips reached fever pitch,
I whispered in her ear, "Okay," and
plunged back in. Her whole body
stiffened as I found that soft pad once
more, savouring the way each tiny touch

echoed through her. At the same time, I

resumed spanking, trying to weave that
pain in time with her pleasure.
The combination was nearly too
much for her. In less than a minute her
cries reached their crescendo.
"Are you ready to come for me?" I
asked her.
"Oh God, yes!"
"Then do it."
And a few seconds later, her
whole body stiffened. The sight of her,
those trembling muscles and that
perfectly flushed skin, was nearly
enough to make me come too. I never
tired of doing that to her. I could have
watched her come all day.
When the room was finally quiet

again, save for her little sighs of

satisfaction, I lifted her off my knees and
onto the bed and reached for my belt.
The time for restraint was over.
In a matter of seconds I was naked
and straddling her prone form. She said
nothing, simply arching her ass up
towards me and propping herself up on
her elbows. So perfectly ready and
willing. I paused a moment, to take her
in, stroking my cock back and forward
between her cheeks. The vibrant red of
her skin had dulled now to a soft glow,
although she still flinched a little at my
touch.
A long moan escaped my lips as I
pushed my way into her, her body

welcoming me with a familiarity that set

all my nerves tingling. She was
incredibly wet from our games before,
and I was able to bury most of my length
in a single stroke.
"I swear you get bigger every
time," she said, her voice low.
I responded by seizing her hips and
pushing myself in further still, until I was
pressed up against her. I started slow,
giving her time to adjust, relishing her
slickness and warmth. Our bodies
quickly fell into sync, hers bucking
gently beneath me, pressing upwards in
time with my rhythm. Each stroke was
almost torturous. Nothing had ever felt
as good as she did.
Soon, that exquisite softness

became too much. I longed to let go.

"Put your arms behind your back,"
I said.
She did as I'd asked, resting her
head on the pillow in front. Somehow,
that position made her look even hotter,
the subtle angle of her back making her
ass look good enough to eat. Crossing
her wrists and pinning them behind her
with one hand, I began to fuck her
harder, using her arms as leverage to
drive her against me. Her body was
completely mine now, and the volume of
her cries instantly increased. There was
no doubt she loved being rendered so
powerless as much as I loved rendering
her so.

The wax on her back had

hardened, and with every punishing
thrust, little flakes broke off and drifted
down onto the bed. I forced myself into
her with a single minded urgency, as
though by pushing deeper I could claim
just a little more of her. There was
nothing else in the world at that moment
but her body beneath mine.
Her muscles tightened and her
sounds became choked, and then another
orgasm ripped through her. Then
sensation of having her come around my
cock drove me wild. I could feel every
trembling contraction vibrate through her
and into me.
It was too much. I felt the vestiges

of my self-control shatter along with her.

A mounting tension began building
inside me as my hips took on a life of
their own. It started low in my balls,
radiating upwards and through my shaft
then spiralling out further still.
"I'm going to come on you,
Sophia," I panted, savouring the little
sounds of encouragement the spilt from
her lips.
As my pleasure reached its apex, I
pulled myself free. There was a bursting
sensation and my vision dimmed as I
spurted liquid heat onto her back. Seeing
her like that, coated in wax and water
and me, was the perfect conclusion to
the night's activities. It was so fucking
hot seeing her marked in that way.

"Well now I know you've made a

mess back there," she said.
I laughed. "I may have. Let me fix
that." I went to get a towel and took my
time wiping her clean. Thanks to the oil,
everything fell away easily.
"Fuck, I love you," she said, as we
lay there afterwards.
"That's the post coital hormones
talking."
"Maybe," she said with a grin, "but
it's still true."
"Well, I love you too." I reached
out and gave her ass a squeeze.
"Particularly certain parts of you."
She punched me playfully. "Now
who's talking with their hormones?"

We snuggled together for a while,

enjoying the comedown. Gradually, her
breathing softened, and I assumed she'd
fallen asleep, but then she spoke.
"I can't wait until this is all over."
"Me too," I said, running a hand
through her hair. "I know this is rough,
but you're dealing with it really well. I'm
proud of you. And I'm so damn lucky
you're putting up with it at all."
"You are rather lucky." She
opened her eyes and gazed up at me, a
playful little smile playing on her lips.
"Then again, so am I." She let out a little
sigh. "I'm just not much of a homebody,
you know? Before all of this, if I wasn't
at work in the evenings, I was out with

Ruth and Lou, or Elle, or you. I can't

wait to have that again. I want to be able
to go out to dinner with you on my arm
and watch all the other women in the
place drool."
"If that's the case I dare say we'll
be rendering the whole place
incapacitated. You obviously don't see
how most men look at you."
She laughed. "Perhaps in the
interests of public safety we'd better stay
here, forever, then."
"Perhaps." Some of my mirth slid
away. "It won't always be like this,
Sophia. We'll fix this, eventually."
"I know," she replied, but there
was a hint of sadness in her voice.
I wished I could reassure her, but

the truth was, I wasn't sure myself.

CHAPTER TEN
Sebastian
Thomas intercepted me the next
morning, as I was arriving at the house.
"Can I have a word?" he asked. He
looked concerned.
I motioned him towards my office.
"What's up?" I asked, as he closed
the door.
"I heard something last night from
one of our guys overseas. It's just a
rumour, nothing concrete, but word on
the street is that The Syndicate might be

planning something big."

My eyes widened. The Syndicate
were one of the closest things we had to
a rival. They were less tightly knit than
us, more of a financial conglomerate
than anything else, but that only made
them more ruthless. Russia, China, Saudi
Arabia - anywhere with big oil or
natural gas production - those were their
strongholds. We'd had an uneasy peace
with them for decades, mostly because
butting heads would cause both of us
immense damage; but it certainly wasn't
beyond the realm of possibility that they
were behind the recent attacks.
"Any idea what?" I asked.
Thomas shook his head. "It's just
whispers at this point. It may not even be

connected to all of this."

"You don't sound like you believe
that."
He smiled thinly. "You know me. I
don't like coincidences."
"Me either. I can't see an end game
in it for them, though," I said. "We're not
remotely close to any of their power
bases. Even if they did manage to
somehow destroy us all down here, it
wouldn't make any difference to their
operations. If they were going to make a
play, I'd expect them to go after Europe
or America, not us."
"Maybe they're just sending a
message?"
"Maybe," I replied, although that

didn't feel quite right. These attacks felt

targeted and meticulous. "If it is them,
they've certainly upped their game.
They're not exactly the most subtle
group, but the people messing with us
right now are like ghosts. They're
always one step ahead."
Thomas nodded. "That's been
bothering me too."
"Well, keep your ear to the ground.
Maybe they'll slip up and give
themselves away. We could use a gift
like that, right now. This whole situation
is really starting to wear on me. Not to
mention the toll it's taking on Sophia."
My discussion with her had been
on my mind all day. I desperately
wanted her to be happy, and would have

liked nothing more than to spend our

nights out on the town, but that was a
spectacular way to leave us both
exposed. Leaving her alone at work was
bad enough, but at least her office had
door scanners and security guards and a
thousand sets of watchful eyes. Bars and
restaurants were a different story. They
weren't contained, they weren't a known
quantity. Even with our little rag tag
security team, there were a million
things that could go wrong.
But as the afternoon rolled around,
I was struck by an idea. I tracked down
Tony and Aaron, and organised for them
to just go straight back to the house.
Tonight, I'd be playing chauffeur.

A few hours later, I was waiting

on the footpath outside Sophia's office.
As she exited the building and caught
sight of me, her face lit up with a curious
smile.
"Hey you," she said.
"Hey yourself."
"To what do I owe this pleasure?"
I grinned and held up the bag I was
carrying. "I thought maybe we could
have a little dinner party in your office.
Just because we can't go to a restaurant
doesn't mean we can't eat out."
"Oooh, my office. How exotic!"
Her voice was sarcastic, but her smile
only widened.
"Well, we don't have to..." I

replied, trying my best to sound put out.

She laughed. "I'm kidding. That's
very sweet of you. And good timing. I'm
starving."
I followed Sophia back inside,
drawing a few strange looks from her
colleagues, but we made it to the office
without any awkward questions.
"It's still kind of early," she said,
as I closed the door. "What happens if
my boss decides to pop round for a
chat?"
"Then I will politely ask him to
leave."
"He might not appreciate that."
"Well I might not appreciate him
interrupting our date."
She laughed. "I suspect you may

just win that encounter."

I reached into the bag and cracked
open a container. The room instantly
filled with the smell of peanuts and
garlic. "I hope Thai is okay."
She made an appreciative noise.
"Thai is more than okay."
"And the coup de grace," I said,
pulling out the bottle of wine I'd brought.
She clapped. "You know me too
well."
"Only plastic cups I'm afraid."
"What?" she replied, with mock
haughtiness. "This is an outrage!"
We settled in, passing containers
back and forth and shovelling food into
our mouths with those thin, store

provided chopsticks. We were ravenous,

and within just a few minutes we'd both
managed to drip sauce down the fronts
of our clothes, but all it did was make us
laugh. There was something so
comfortable about this sort of sharing.
I'd eaten at a lot of fancy restaurants in
my day, and while they had their charms,
none of them compared to this. This was
a level of affection and intimacy I
assumed I'd never have, but by some
miracle of God or fate, or whatever you
want to call it, I'd found a woman who
seemed to be willing to take all of my
baggage on board. And amazingly, with
our lives currently wrapped up in
conspiracy and danger, we could still
share moments like these.

"Thank you for this," she said, as

we were taking a breather.
I shrugged. "It's no Mi Casa."
She reached out to give my hand a
little squeeze. "Maybe not, but it's
perfect anyway." And she was right.
It was a little sad, heading back to
our makeshift fortress, but that couldn't
erase the joy of the evening. Sophia's
eyes were sparkling more than any time
since before she was taken, and that
alone made me incredibly happy. She
had such life in her, and at times I was
terrified the situation would crush that to
dust.
It was dark by the time we pulled
into the driveway, but I could still see

the silhouettes of one of our guards

sitting in his car on the grass to one side.
The other would be around the back. It
was encouraging to see that, even when
we weren't home and they had every
opportunity to slack off, they didn't. They
were true professionals.
I parked the car and we hopped
out. Thumbing the door scanner, I
opened it and ushered Sophia inside.
"Home sweet home," she said.
I followed her, my eyes
shamelessly glued to her ass. She turned
her head and caught me. "And what are
you looking at?"
"You," I replied. "Or rather, a
specific part of you." I gave her a gentle
little smack.

"What ever happened to look but

don't touch?" she asked coyly.
"I plan on doing a lot more than
touching."
I reached up to slip my jacket off,
and then everything happened at once.
There was a light, scraping sound from
somewhere to our left. It was barely
more than a whisper, a shoe catching a
piece of furniture maybe, but my body
had been on twenty four hour alert since
this all started, so it was enough to set
adrenaline exploding through my veins.
If I hadn't already been removing my
suit, I wouldn't have got there in time,
but my gun was holstered in a shoulder
strap that hung just below my armpit. As

the two men appeared in the kitchen

doorway, their own weapons pointed in
our direction, I was already moving. My
hand closed around my pistol grip as I
lurched to one side, instinctively
throwing myself in front of Sophia,
knocking her into the room behind us.
The air was suddenly thick with hot lead
and the scent of gunpowder.
The first man missed his mark
entirely, his bullets zinging into the
plaster around me, and he paid the price
as my first shot took him in the chest.
However the next man was better. As his
partner collapsed he took careful aim
and fired a single round. I felt the wind
of it plough past me as I threw myself
behind the lounge room wall. Two

inches to the left and I'd have been done.

I landed awkwardly and scuttled
up into a crouch, then spun to check on
Sophia. She looked over at me from the
other side of the doorway, her face a
mask of terror. I did my best to seem
calm and collected, but blood was
pounding in my ears. It had been a long
time since I'd been in a real combat
situation. I'd forgotten how sharp
everything gets, how your heart feels
like a fist pummelling the inside of your
chest.
At any moment Tony and Aaron
should have been bursting in through the
doors, drawn by the sound of gunfire.
But everything remained ominously

silent. After a few seconds, I knew we

were on our own.
I didn't understand how everything
had gone so horribly wrong, but now
wasn't the time to think. Now was a time
for action. With every passing second,
the situation grew more dangerous. Our
opponent had gone quiet now. Probably
holing up, to wait us out. He had a good
position and a tiny space to watch. The
moment I peeked out, I'd be done.
If I'd been alone, I could have
simply looped around behind him
through the lounge room's other
doorway, but Sophia was essentially
trapped in the corner. She couldn't go
anywhere without exposing herself,
which meant neither could I. I'd die

before I left her alone.

I wracked my brains for some kind
of plan, but nothing came. It would have
to be a straight shoot out. That was the
only way. He'd hit me, but maybe it
wouldn't be lethal, maybe I'd still be
able to take him out before I collapsed. I
might not make it, but Sophia would.
She was still staring at me with
those wide, beautiful eyes, her handbag
clutched against her chest like a baby. I
nodded reassuringly at her, trying to etch
every line of that perfect face into my
mind, then I crept to the edge of the
doorway. She gasped as she realised
what I was about to do, but I silenced
her with a raised finger against my lips.

There was no other option.

Taking a deep breath, I counted to
three and then launched myself out
across the doorway, the barrel of my
pistol panning wildly for a target.
I expected to hear gunfire. I
expected to feel that hot metal sting as he
calmly picked me off from his perfect
vantage. But instead, nothing happened.
The room across the hall was
empty.
For a second I was confused, but
then panic seized me, and everything
suddenly seemed to slip into slow
motion as I realised what had happened.
I turned my head, catching sight of the
man's profile in the lounge room's other
doorway as he carefully took aim at me.

I'd underestimated him. He hadn't been

content to wait it out. Instead he was the
one who'd looped around behind.
My gun was still pointed the other
way. I tried desperately to bring it
around, but my arm felt leaden and
impossibly heavy, like I was dragging it
through thick mud. His finger twitched
toward the trigger. I wasn't going to
make it.
And then, when he was surely just
milliseconds from firing, a percussion of
loud cracks rang out from the corner of
the room. Plaster floured the air, and the
man's expression went loose. As the red
punctures on his chest began to blossom
out across his shirt, his legs caved

underneath him, and he fell limply to the

floor.
For several moments, all I could
do was stare. I'd been resigned. In my
head, we were already dead, and it took
a while for me to understand that that
wasn't the case.
I turned slowly to Sophia. The gun
I'd given her was still trembling in her
hands. Every part of her was shaking in
fact. She'd emptied the entire clip, only
hitting him twice, but that was all it had
taken.
The pistol dropped to the floor.
"He was going to shoot you," she said
woodenly.
That jolted me back to reality.
Glancing over at each body once more to

check for movement, I stumbled over

and wrapped her in my arms. "I know. I
know. You had no choice."
She nodded slowly, although her
eyes were still distant. She was the
strongest woman I'd ever met, but killing
is something you can never be prepared
for. It changes you. I couldn't believe I'd
put her in that position.
I pulled her against me tightly,
stroking her hair. She was in shock, and
really needed time to recover, but that
wasn't a luxury we had yet. For now I
had to comfort her enough so we could
move.
The fight felt like it had taken
hours, but I knew from experience it was

probably only about fifteen seconds.

Still, we had to leave. There was a good
chance that even through the solid walls
someone had heard the shots. The police
would likely be on the way, and
spending several hours clearing up the
mess would only serve to leave us more
exposed. Then of course there were our
assassins to consider. Things had just
gone up to a whole new level, and I
doubted that whoever was responsible
would suddenly back down just because
they'd lost this fight. More men could be
on their way. We had to get somewhere
safe.
"Sophia, look at me. We need to
move now, okay?"
She turned slowly and stared for

several seconds, before eventually

blinking several times and nodding.
"Okay. I'm okay. Let's go."
After scooping up our two
weapons, as well as those of our
assailants, I led her into the study. "Just
getting some supplies," I said, removing
my emergency duffel from the bottom of
the cupboard.
She didn't reply.
Unzipping the bag I surveyed the
contents; two changes of clothes for each
of us, cash, phones, passports, and a
laptop computer. I'd hoped to God we
wouldn't have any cause to run, but I'd
been prepared nonetheless.
I withdrew one of the phones and

powered it on. It was a cheap, prepaid

model, bought from a convenience store.
In other words, it was utterly
untraceable to me.
I guided Sophia back towards the
front door, pausing briefly to snap
pictures of the two men. Even as my
brain struggled to process what had just
happened, the logical part of my mind
was still firing on some level. We
couldn't stay, so I had to collect
whatever evidence I could.
The air outside was warm and
heavy. Raising my gun, I scanned the
yard slowly, searching for any further
danger. It was unlikely it made more
sense for our enemies to just stay
together and ensure the job got done

but I wasn't taking any risks.

The garden appeared to be empty.
I started moving towards the gate
with Sophia in tow. I could see how
hard she was trying. The expression on
her face was constantly shifting from
frightened confusion to grim
determination as she battled to keep her
emotions in check.
As we passed the security guys'
car, I couldn't help but glance over,
already knowing what I'd find. From a
distance nothing had looked wrong, but
up close, it was Tony's shocked
expression that greeted me. He wasn't
moving. The red misting on his skin was
lit up vividly in the moonlight like a

poster for a horror film. Aaron would be

around the back somewhere, in a similar
state. I felt a hollowness building inside
me, but I shoved it to the back of my
mind. Not now.
Sophia followed my gaze, and let
out a little cry, but I reached out and
seized her chin, pulling her eyes to mine.
"Don't look." She trembled a little in my
grip, her eyes glistening and impossibly
wide. "Don't look," I said again. And
after a moment, her expression hardened
and she gave a curt nod.
"We're going to take a taxi," I said,
as we headed up the street. The house
was only a five minute walk from the
main road. It would be easy to flag down
a cab at this time of night. "We need to

get somewhere private. For all I know,

the car is bugged. I need your phone
too."
Her brow furrowed slightly, but
she pulled it from her purse and handed
it over. I threw it, along with my own
personal one, into a bush. "Can't be too
careful." I handed her the second
prepaid. "Use this instead. I've got one
too. The number is already programmed
in."
To her credit, she simply nodded
again. I was partially awed and partially
sickened at how quickly she was
becoming used to this.
As I'd suspected, a cab was easy to
find. I directed the driver towards

Newtown, towards Sophia's house. That

wasn't where we were really headed,
but I had no idea how many resources
our enemies had anymore. I wanted to
keep them on their toes.
Once on King Street, we jumped
out and hailed another taxi. "North," was
all I said to the driver.
Sophia took my paranoia in stride,
sitting and staring out the windows,
hugging herself lightly despite the
warmth. I didn't know what I could say,
so I stayed quiet too.
The ocean fanned out in front of us,
as we drove out over the Harbour
Bridge, but my mind was racing too fast
to appreciate the view. When we arrived
at the mini-CBD that is North Sydney, I

ushered Sophia out once more and then,

picking a random direction, we began to
walk. I figured if I did everything as
randomly as possible, it made the
chances of someone guessing where
we'd gone almost impossible.
Two blocks later we found a hotel.
It wasn't particularly big, nor were the
rooms particularly nice. Sterile was
probably the best word to describe it.
Cheap furniture, cream coloured linen,
and the slightly sickly scent of lemon
detergent in the air. People didn't come
to this part of town to holiday. They flew
in on rushed overnight business trips,
their only requirements a clean bed and
a well-stocked mini bar. The mere fact

that we were a couple checking in

together drew a raised eyebrow from the
concierge.
The moment I closed the door
behind us, something seemed to drain out
of Sophia again. She sat down on the
bed and turned to face me. "I thought you
said that place was safe."
I exhaled slowly. "I thought it was.
Nobody should have been able to get in
there."
"So what does that mean?"
I could see she already knew the
answer. I almost couldn't muster the
words, words that had been playing in
the back of my mind since the moment
the fight ended. "It means you were
right," I said slowly. "Someone in the

group wants us dead." Despite how

obvious it was, hearing myself say it out
loud was like a punch to the stomach.
One of my brothers had betrayed me. It
was inconceivable.
Sophia closed her eyes briefly,
like she'd just realised how little she
wanted to be right this time. "So what do
we do now?"
I shook my head, a sense of
hopelessness clawing at my stomach. "I
don't know." And it was true. I had no
idea what our next move was. Without
knowing who to trust, I couldn't properly
use the group's resources. I was
effectively cut off. Before, it had been
our team against theirs, but now, it was

the two of us against the world.

She gave a little nod, like she'd
been expecting that, then slipped off her
shoes and curled up on the bed. I stood
there, staring at this broken woman,
feeling so completely ashamed. The
signs had been there, but I'd been too
blind to see them, and once again she'd
nearly paid the price.
"Can you hold me?" she said, after
a few seconds. The tremble in her voice
was enough to break my heart.
Hurrying towards her I lay down,
looping my arm under her neck to cradle
her against me. "Hey, hey, it's okay." She
didn't cry, she simply burrowed against
me, as if she were trying to disappear
beneath my skin.

I kissed her forehead softly. "Don't

worry, we'll work something out." I
filled my voice with as much confidence
as possible. What else could I do?
"Okay."
We lay there like that for a few
minutes, enjoying the security of each
other's presence. Despite my calm
facade, the night's events had shaken me.
I'd had a little combat exposure back in
the day, but nothing ever makes getting
shot at any easier. I knew it would pass,
but right now, every nerve in my body
felt frayed and agitated.
"We should get some rest," I said.
"We can deal with this tomorrow. We'll
think better with a night's sleep in us."

"Okay," she said again.

I leaned down to kiss her
goodnight. It was an instinctive gesture. I
hadn't planned for anything to come of it,
but the moment our lips touched, a
massive current sizzled between us. The
lingering adrenaline from our fight
surged in my veins, driving my body
against hers as though she might be
ripped away from me at any second. She
was hesitant for a moment, but then she
was kissing me back with equal urgency,
a fearful hunger that was heartbreaking
and yet utterly beautiful. The air swirled,
heady with our need; the need to feel
each other, to affirm we were both here
and safe and together. That somehow,

we'd survived.
Our hands fumbled for each other's
clothes, tearing them free, and I lowered
my naked form over hers, sinking into
her wet heat. She arched beneath me,
drawing a long intoxicated breath as our
bodies joined.
I pulled her against me, welding
her form to mine, desperate to be as
close to her as humanly possible. There
was nothing sensual or controlled about
our lovemaking. It was raw and
desperate and devastatingly passionate.
There were no words to express the way
we both felt in that moment, but our
bodies could say what our mouths could
not. After the terror of what we'd just
been through, I desperately wanted to

feel something good, something pure,

and I wanted her to feel the same.
We came together, our eyes
locked, our muscles quivering in unison.
We didn't speak when it was over. We
just lay there, bathing in the tender glow
that, at least temporarily, kept the
darkness at bay.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
Sophia
For a few minutes after I woke, I
actually felt really good. It was one of
those lazy awakenings, where things
come to you gradually; the sun through
the window, the warmth of the blanket,
the weight and scent of Sebastian
besides me. Soon enough though,
everything else made itself known.
Thinking back over it all, I felt
strangely numb about the whole thing. I
didn't know if that was normal or not. I'd

killed a man. It seemed like I should

have been balled up in a corner
somewhere. But I wasn't. Maybe if I'd
still been living my ordinary life,
blissfully ignorant of this world, it
would have been different. But given
everything that was going on around us,
it somehow didn't seem so shocking.
He'd been trying to kill us, and I'd
stopped him. That was all there was to
it. I suspected it would come to haunt
me, in time, but at that moment, I felt
eerily calm. Perhaps it was just my body
doing what it needed to, to get through
this thing.
I glanced over at Sebastian's
sleeping form, my eyes drinking in the
taut coils of his back. It made me feel a

little perverted that even now, the first

thing I did was check him out, but the
memory of our recent love making was
blaring like fireworks behind my eyes. I
had to admit, being shot at did have its
perks. Our coupling had never been like
that before; so raw, so desperate. He'd
loved me like he might never get another
chance, and my body had responded in
kind.
He woke a few minutes later and
rolled towards me, smiling through
sleepy eyes. "Hey."
"Hey," I replied.
He leaned in to kiss me, and for a
second I thought we might be taken by
the same manic combustion that had

seized us last night, but I had to settle for

a little tingle in my belly instead. The
crushing fear that had fuelled us
appeared to be all burnt up.
"I'm starving," he said.
"Me too."
He slipped out from under the
sheet and walked to the mini-bar. "Well,
we can either have Snickers for
breakfast, or we can venture out."
"You think that's safe?" I asked.
He shrugged and nodded. "It's
going to be buzzing out there pretty soon.
Finding two people in suits will be
needle in haystack territory. Besides,
nobody has any idea where we are.
We're off the grid."
I glanced out the window. He was

right. The streets were already thronging

with people. North Sydney is the biggest
business district outside of the actual
CBD, making it a perfect disguise for
people dressed like we were.
We found a little cafe in a side
street and snagged a table in the back
corner. We'd missed the breakfast rush
and the place was starting to empty out,
so if we talked quietly enough, we had a
little privacy.
"So, what's our plan?" I said, when
our waitress was out of earshot. She'd
brought coffee, and I could already feel
the sweet rush of caffeine wending its
way through my brain. I was alert and
ready as I was ever going to be to work

out our next move.

He blinked several times,
apparently taken aback by my directness.
It was then that I noticed how tired he
looked. The little lines that webbed their
way out from his eyes were more
pronounced than normal and his
expression was slightly slack. I
suspected he hadn't got much rest last
night.
"I'm not entirely sure," he said.
"Well, let's work out what we
know. We know that someone from
Alpha sent those men to our house,
correct?"
He closed his eyes briefly and
nodded. "Nobody else could have gotten
in there, let alone known where it was."

"Okay, so that gives us something

to aim at."
"Kind of, yeah," he replied. "But
whoever it is, they're smart. When they
kidnapped you, we threw everything we
could at them, and we came up blank.
Property ownership, the identity of the
thugs they'd hired, everything. It was like
trying to track down a ghost. Assuming
that they're still that competent, I doubt
we're going to find them easily."
I knew this conversation was
difficult for him, but there was no way to
avoid it. "Well, surely some members
are bigger candidates than others?"
He understood instantly. "You
mean Ewan?"

I nodded. "It was pretty clear from

the outset that he didn't exactly approve
of me. What did you say he called me? A
liability? If those aren't the words of a
man who wants me out of the picture, I
don't know what are."
His brow furrowed, and he let out
a long breath. "I know he seems like the
obvious candidate, but I just can't see it.
Maybe he'd move against us, maybe, but
even that's a stretch. And Charlie and
Simon? I'd bet a million to one he'd
never do that. They were his closest
friends. They'd been in the group
together for decades."
"People can surprise us in the
worst ways, sometimes," I said.

I could see him trying to make the

pieces fit in his head, but eventually he
shook his head. "You didn't see his face,
hear his anger when he heard about their
deaths. Besides, why would he be upset
with you for endangering the group if he
was also working to destroy it?"
He had a point. That didn't quite
stack up. "So what about the others?"
He stared desolately down at the
table. "I don't know. I can't really
believe it of any of them. The group is a
brotherhood, Sophia. I've known them
all for years. I can't see any of them just
turning power hungry all of a sudden."
"So that's what you think it's all
about? Power?"

"Maybe. None of it really adds up.

Taking out a few council members, sure,
I guess I can see that as part of a larger
plan, but then why go after you? That
part still puzzles me."
I nodded. "Me too."
The waitress arrived with our
food, and we ate in thoughtful silence for
a few minutes.
"Let's try a different approach," I
said eventually. "Who knew you were
coming to my office last night?"
His eyes widened a fraction as he
realised my implication. "Of course. I
missed that. Whoever it was must have
known we'd be out late. Every other
night we arrived separately, and at

different times. It would have been a

nightmare to coordinate."
"Exactly. They saw an opportunity,
and they jumped on it."
His expression slipped. "The only
person I told was Thomas," he said, a
current of disbelief running through his
voice. "I'm not exactly on friendly
chatting terms with many people over
there right now. But there's no way
he'd... he's my closest friend." He closed
his eyes momentarily, collecting his
thoughts. "There were other people in
the room at the time. We'd just finished a
meeting. I didn't really pay attention to
who might be listening in, but plenty of
them could have overheard."
"So it could be any of them," I

said.
He nodded. "That does limit it to
the inner council only though. There was
no one else in the room."
"Well, that's something." I weighed
our options. "So, we obviously can't go
back to the house and, I take it from the
way you threw away our phones, using
the Alpha network at all is also off the
cards?"
"I'm afraid so. They'd find us in an
instant."
"So do we have any options at all?
Or are we destined to discard our
identities and live out of hotels
forever?"
"It's not quite that bleak," he

replied. "There's a few things we can

try. I've got pictures of the men from last
night, as well as their weapons. I can
send that info off to some of my contacts
directly, without going through Alpha at
all. Like I said before, I doubt the bad
guys are sloppy enough to leave a trail,
but it's worth a shot."
I nodded. "Okay."
"Also, Joe should be on his way
back right now, and he might be able to
help us."
I raised an eyebrow. "I thought we
weren't trusting the group right now."
"Joe is a special case. I've known
him for my entire adult life. He recruited
me, for God's sake. I'm one hundred
percent certain he's got nothing to do

with this."
The firmness of his tone left no
room for argument and, the truth was, I
trusted Joe too. "Fair enough," I said.
"We might be able to use his Alpha
connection to see if whoever broke into
our house left any evidence.
Theoretically there should be security
footage and a thumbprint record. I expect
it's been cleaned up, but you never
know."
"Okay," I said again. It seemed like
a solid plan, given the circumstances.
Then I had another idea. "Have you
considered just announcing to the group
that someone has gone rogue? Maybe
you'll spook the spy and make him do

something stupid."
"I thought about it. It might work,
but it also might also have the opposite
effect. If everyone suspects everyone, all
sense of order will break down, and the
chaos might help our enemy instead of
hurt them. That's not a risk I'm willing to
take unless we have no choice. The
group is in enough danger already."
That made sense. "Alright."
We finished our food in
contemplative silence.
"You know, a tiny part of me is
regretting not taking those plane tickets
right now," I said.
He managed a tiny smile. "I'm not
surprised. The offer's still open, you
know. I got you a passport made up just

in case."
"Ooh, do I have a code name?"
"From memory, you're Lucy Page."
I made a face. "Makes me sound
like a TV housewife from the fifties."
He chuckled. "Sorry."
"In any case, I'm certainly not
going to go lie on any tropical beaches
while you're stuck here, battling evil.
You could come with me, though. Star
crossed lovers fleeing to a foreign land
together. It's kind of romantic."
He smiled wistfully. "I wish I
could."
I'd said it like I was joking, but I'd
be lying if I said the thought hadn't
crossed my mind. Maybe running off

together was the best solution. Would it

really be so bad, starting over from
scratch? "Have you ever thought about
leaving?"
He didn't reply straight away. "I
hadn't, but then I met you."
Such a short sentence, but it
resonated through me.
"But it's daunting, you know?" he
continued. "The group has been my life
for so long. I don't know what I'd do
without it."
I nodded. I understood that
particular fear all too well.
"Anyway," he said, signalling for
the cheque, "we should get back to the
hotel. It will take a while for my
contacts to get back to me, so the sooner

we start, the sooner we might get some

results."
A few minutes later we were back
in the room. While he was sending off
the info to his contacts, I fired through an
email to my boss using my new phone,
explaining that I'd come down violently
ill and needed a few days off. He
replied almost instantly saying it was no
trouble. I got the sense he was extremely
pleased to have me back at all, so a few
more days made little difference. I didn't
know what I'd do if our exile stretched
into weeks, or longer, but I figured I'd
cross that bridge when I came to it.
Once we'd both taken care of
business, it was just a matter of waiting.

I'd thought being penned up in the Alpha

house was frustrating, but something
about the cheap, cut and paste hotel
decor made that room feel incredibly
oppressive. We lay on the bed drinking
wine from the mini-bar and watching
daytime TV. I'd bought a few magazines
on the way back, and I tried leafing
through them, but I couldn't make myself
focus. I was restless and frustrated at
how powerless we were.
At some point, Sebastian fell
asleep. Apparently he really had been
wiped out. I tried to join him, but my
body wouldn't cooperate. Instead, I
found myself turning the situation over
and over in my mind. I wished I'd paid
better attention to Sebastian's

colleagues. There were only a few who

I'd even really talked with and, of that
group, nothing stood out - besides
Ewan's blatant dislike. Trey seemed
friendly and relatively harmless and
besides, he wasn't a council member.
Then there was Thomas who, while
being a little intense at times, appeared
to care about Sebastian. Some of the
other men had certainly seemed a little
cold towards us, but I put that down
more to Ewan's influence than anything
else. Whoever the mole was, they were
doing an amazing job of blending in.
At about six thirty, Sebastian woke
up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sleep."
"It's fine, you looked like you

needed it."
He nodded and flashed me a half
smile. "I'll make it up to you by getting
dinner. There's a Chinese place just
downstairs that does takeaway."
I glanced at the TV, feeling a
tightness in my chest. The prospect of
spending any more time here, stewing in
the horror that had become our lives,
was almost too much to bear. I already
felt like I was losing my mind and, if I
stayed here, all I'd be able to think about
was how helpless we were. "What we
should do is hit the town," I said.
I'd mostly been joking, but the
moment the words left my lips, the idea
took root in my head. The gradually
blooming smile on Sebastian's face said

he felt the same way. "Maybe we

should."
I laughed. "Is that crazy?" It
seemed ridiculous to consider going out
on a date, given everything that was
happening, but hell, if people were going
to be constantly trying to kill me, I felt
like maybe I should take advantage of
the lulls in between. Besides, I could
desperately use the distraction.
"A little, maybe, but I can't see it
being a problem as long as we keep it
low key. If anybody had managed to
follow us, they'd have made their move
by now. A hotel is hardly going to
provide much of an obstacle for one of
my brothers. So we can assume they

have no idea where we are. As far as

they know, we could be anywhere in the
city. Maybe anywhere in the country."
It made sense. "Low key hey?" I
said. "Like pizza and a movie?"
"That sounds perfect."
A few minutes later, we were
walking out through the hotel's front
door. The streets were emptier at night,
but there was still a steady stream of
office workers who were clocking off
late or heading home after a few end of
day drinks.
It took us a while to find a pizza
place, but when we did, we struck gold.
A few blocks away from the main
thoroughfare, we stumbled upon a tiny
shop front with a giant neon pizza slice

flickering above it. There was no other

signage, not even a name, but it seemed
to have what was important. It wasn't
until we made our way inside that we
realised what a gem we'd discovered.
The scene before us looked like it
had been ripped straight out of a nineties
sitcom. Dimly lit booths with red and
white plastic table cloths, walls
plastered with yellowed band posters
and old advertisements for beer and
motor oil. There was even an ancient
pinball machine in the corner, it's
warbling, high-pitched cries for attention
fighting vainly against the throbbing rock
music being piped through the speakers.
The place was relatively full, but

the smiling, old, Italian-looking waiter

didn't seem fazed, guiding us through the
tables to an open booth, tucked to one
side. Sebastian and I grinned at one
another as we sat down. I could already
feel some of my tension ebbing away,
and I could tell he felt the same way.
We ordered a few pizzas to share,
as well as a couple of the foaming mugs
of unnamed beer that seemed to be the
drink of choice.
"We might have another Mi Casa
on our hands," Sebastian said to me once
the waiter disappeared.
"We just might," I agreed. "It's
almost enough to make you forget..." I
trailed off, realising I was only going to
kill the mood, but it was too late. His

expression wilted.
"I didn't really ask before, but are
you coping okay?" he said. "Yesterday...
well, it was pretty rough."
Memories of the previous night
appeared, unbidden, in my mind. The
weight of the gun, the violent kick of it in
my hands, the way the man's eyes grew
wide as his legs collapsed under him.
Not now! I pushed it all to the side.
"That's one way to put it," I said,
keeping my voice level. "But yeah, I
think I'm doing okay."
He didn't look like he believed me,
but he nodded. "I know the apologies are
probably getting old, but I can't tell you
how sorry I am that I put you in that

position. I should have listened to you

when you questioned my colleagues."
"You should have," I said,
managing a small smile, "but, like I said,
I stopped blaming you for all of this
weeks ago. You can't shoulder the
burden of everything that happens to the
people you know, Sebastian. Proximity
doesn't equal fault. I've forgiven you, but
our relationship will never work unless
you forgive yourself too."
Some of the tension drained out of
his face. "You're right. The thought of
you being in danger just tears me up,
that's all. If I lost you..." he shook his
head.
I reached out and weaved my
fingers through his. "You won't. The

odds may be bad, but so far, we've

survived everything they've thrown at us.
We'll get through this, we just need to
focus." I wasn't quite as confident as all
that, but I knew that he needed to hear it.
If, by some miracle, we were to beat this
thing, we needed to keep our eyes on the
prize.
It seemed to work. After a few
seconds, his jaw tightened and he
nodded. "That sounds like a plan."
"But not tonight," I continued. "We
can't do anything until we hear back from
everyone, so tonight, let's forget all
about this and just be a couple, out on a
date. I want to remember what it's like to
feel normal again, even if it's just for one

night."
His lips gradually curled upwards.
"I can do that."
And so we did. For the next two
hours, we talked about everything but the
lurking danger. He seemed to enjoy
hearing about my antics with the girls
and, thankfully, Ruth provided enough
material to base an entire sitcom on.
Pretty soon we were both in hysterics,
our stomachs aching from laughter.
The pizza was spectacular. Thinly
cut and dripping with cheese, it tasted as
delicious as it did unhealthy, and it was
exactly the kind of comfort food I
needed.
When we'd had our fill, we caught
a cab a few minutes north to the nearest

cinema. Out on the street, I found myself

glancing over my shoulder a few times,
but nobody was paying any attention to
us. It appeared Sebastian had been right.
We were off the grid.
None of the films playing really
looked interesting, but I didn't care. It
was more the act of going to the movies
than the movie itself. Something about
going on such a mundane date with
Sebastian pleased me immensely. It felt
like the kind of date I'd have gone on
with a university boyfriend. There was
no fanciness to it, no expectations or
desire to impress. It was just the two of
us hanging out and enjoying one
another's company.

We settled on some big budget scifi title that seemed like it might at least
look impressive on the big screen. It was
a relatively quiet session, with only
fifteen or so other people in the cinema.
We took up residence somewhere
towards the back.
Within about ten minutes, I was
bored. It did look spectacular, but the
script sounded like it had been written
by an internet chatroom bot, and every
member of the cast seemed to be too
busy practising Blue Steel to actually
display any other facial expressions.
Apparently, Sebastian felt the same
way. "Is this what counts for cinema
these days?" he whispered. "It's been a

while since I've been to the movies, so

I'm a little out of touch."
I shook my head. "I don't go much
either, but this is definitely scraping the
bottom of the barrel. I'm not sure I can
take another hour and a half."
His eyes took on a wicked glint.
"Perhaps I can find a way to make that
time a little more bearable." Lifting the
armrest so there was nothing between us,
he slipped closer, burying his face
against my head and breathing in deeply.
"I wouldn't want you to be bored," he
said, in a soft throaty voice, and before I
knew it, his hand was skimming gently
up my leg.
I laughed at his audacity and then
glanced around. There was another

couple in our row, about eight seats

over, and a group of three guys just a
few rows in front. Nobody was paying
any attention to us so far, but it wouldn't
take much to change that.
"Sebastian," I said, nodding at the
couple and raising my eyebrows.
He grinned like a child who knew
he was about to do something naughty
and just didn't care. "They're not paying
attention." Pulling away momentarily, he
shrugged off his jacket and threw it over
both our laps. "And if they are, now all
they'll see is a cold girl and her
chivalrous boyfriend."
Before I could argue, his hand was
climbing my thigh once more. I felt like I

should keep up the pretence of

resistance, but the truth was, my heart
was already beating wildly, and the
closer he drew to my sex, the less
fighting it seemed to matter.
His fingers inched upward until
they found my panties, tugging them to
the side. The first touch was soft, a
gentle caress from my entrance all the
way up, and I felt myself grow wet
almost instantly. I let out a little sigh and
sunk deeper into my seat to give him
better access. Taking my cue, he slipped
one long finger inside me, teasing and
probing until he eventually settled on my
g-spot. That sudden contact sent a spike
of pleasure through me, drawing a sharp
gasp from my lips.

"Uh uh, quiet now," he whispered.

"We wouldn't want to alert our
audience."
I swallowed loudly and clamped
my mouth closed, glancing around the
room once more. All eyes were still
fixed on the screen, although the couple
in our row both looked to be wearing
tighter expressions than before. Was it
just the film? Or were they onto our
game and simply trying to ignore us? I
felt an uneasy excitement settle in my
stomach, the same kind of perverse thrill
I'd experienced wearing the butt plug
around my office.
Sebastian stroked me with a slow,
rhythmic motion, and everything began

turning to liquid inside me. A second

finger joined the first, and I bit back
another cry, curling my hands tightly
around the arm rests for fear that my
movements would betray us.
"Do you like that?" Sebastian
breathed into my ear. "Do you like being
pleasured in a room full of people?"
I nodded quickly, not trusting
myself to do more than that.
"God, you feel so good around my
fingers. I wish I had something else
inside you. But I can wait. I'll fuck you
soon enough."
For a moment, all I could think
about was having his cock inside me, but
then his thumb found my clit, and all
other thoughts fled. There was just his

hand and the exquisite things it was

doing to me. The simultaneous
stimulation was incredible. I had no idea
how he was so dexterous, but every
motion seemed to work together in
perfect harmony. A tightness began to
build in my core, beckoning, begging for
release.
"I want you to come for now me,
Sophia, and I want you to do it without
making a sound."
I wasn't sure that was going to be
possible. Even with my mouth firmly
shut, there were shrill little noises
escaping my throat. But I sure as hell
wasn't going to stop and tell him that.
With the same relentless pace, he

brought me over the cusp. I buried my

face against his shoulder, my whole
body shaking, as though all of the cries I
wasn't letting out were bouncing around
inside me.
"Fuck," I said when it was over.
He glanced around. "As tempting
as that sounds, I think that might get us
noticed."
I laughed, but the suggestion made
my sex clench all the same. "Perhaps we
should go somewhere where we won't
be noticed then," I said, running my hand
slowly along the bulge in his pants
He stiffened and let out a long
breath. "And miss this fine excuse for a
motion picture?"
I raised my eyebrows. "Well, hey,

if you don't want to..."

The intensity returned to those
emerald eyes. "You know what I want?"
he said, his voice a dry rasp. "I want you
to watch the rest of the film and think
about how hard I'm going to fuck you
when it's over. I want you squirming in
your seat, so wet for me I can smell it."
I swallowed loudly. Yeah, like
there was any chance I could think about
anything else now. "Okay," I said softly.
We did watch the rest of the film,
but I'll be damned if I could tell you a
single thing about it.

*****

Sebastian's insistence on waiting

had the desired effect. By the time we
left the cinema, I was a flustered mess.
Judging by the urgency in his walk, I
wasn't the only one.
The moment we stepped through
the door to our hotel room, I felt his
body press up behind mine. My neck
lolled to one side automatically,
exposing the curve of my neck that I
knew he was longing to kiss. He didn't
disappoint, ducking his head to brush his
lips softly across my skin. I let out a
gentle sigh. It was an intimate position;
sensual and tender. I used to think sexual

familiarity was a sign that things were

getting stale, but I loved those little
moments with Sebastian, the
understanding our bodies shared. If
anything, that connection excited me
more.
With reverent delicacy his mouth
traced a path down one shoulder, and
then the other, his fingers stroking my
hips, before slinking upwards to toy with
my dress straps.
"I want to look at you," he said.
"By all means," I replied.
With two gentle flicks of his wrist,
my dress was tumbling to the floor. My
bra followed moments later. There was
a sharp intake of breath behind me, and
then his arms were around me once

more.
"Christ I love this position," he
said, echoing my earlier thoughts. His
hands moved up to cup my breasts,
kneading gently, rolling my nipples
between his fingers. The yearning in my
veins surged, rushing to pool between
my legs. "I love having your ass pressed
against me while I play with you,
knowing I just have to unzip myself and
I'd be inside you."
I twisted my hips in response,
grinding myself against him, causing his
breath to falter. He was certainly ready.
I could feel the strength of his
excitement, hot and needy, pressing
urgently through his pants. "Well I love

feeling what I'm doing to you back

there," I replied.
"Hmm, is that so?" he said in
amusement. "Well, I would be remiss if I
didn't check what I'm doing to you."
One of his hands stayed to roam
my chest, but the other began to inch
slowly, tantalisingly, down my stomach.
He slipped inside my panties, parting my
folds, my clit swelling with electricity at
his touch.
"I do seem to be having the desired
effect," he teased.
"That you are," I replied,
squirming against him. Although there
were no bonds involved, with our
bodies arranged that way I was strangely
helpless. I couldn't explore him as he

explored me. My hands had nowhere to

go but to curl around his powerful
forearms while he pleasured me. He
moved slowly, more a tease than
anything else, but I still found my legs
growing shaky beneath me.
He withdrew and spun me to face
him, silencing my protest with a kiss.
Now free to touch him, my hands began
to roam, revelling in the coiled power of
his body. I wanted to take my time, but I
couldn't help but be drawn to the
trembling bulge between his legs. I
stroked him through the material,
generating a deep vibration in the centre
of his chest.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

There's something else I want you to do

before I fuck you."
"Oh?"
"I want you to take a shower."
I gazed at him in bewilderment.
"Do I really smell that bad?"
He favoured me with a small
smile, but something in the air had
shifted. This wasn't a request, it was a
command. My skin prickled with
anticipation.
"Not at all, I'd just prefer you were
clean." There was a heaviness to his
tone now, an edge I knew all too well.
"Okay," I said, the sudden rush of
endorphins stealing the strength from my
voice. I still found it amazing how he
could do that with just a slight change in

intonation, like a snake charmer

mesmerising his cast.
Giving him one final squeeze, I
slipped from his arms and sauntered to
the bathroom, glancing back over my
shoulder, enjoying watching him watch
me. The lust in his eyes when he looked
at my body never ceased to thrill me.
Once inside, I shut the door and
removed my panties. I set the water
running and adjusted the temperature
before stepping inside. I knew he'd be
joining me soon.
However, what happened next
managed to surprise me. I heard the click
of the door handle, but before I could
even turn, the room was plunged into

darkness. For a split second I felt a bolt

of fear, but then Sebastian spoke. "On
second thoughts, we're both rather filthy
if you ask me. I believe we could both
use a shower."
I laughed. "In the dark?"
"I don't need to see you to make
you come, Sophia."
A shiver rolled down my spine. I
wasn't sure I'd ever get sick of that dirty
mouth. "We'll see about that," I replied,
trying to sound coy. "Come on in, then.
I'll wash you if you wash me."
"Deal."
In a moment, the glass door was
opening and then his hard form was
pressing against mine once more, only
now he was naked too. The moment we

touched, my confusion about the lack of

light melted away. Feeling but not seeing
him lent the experience a whole new
kind of tactility. With my sight stolen,
even the slightest contact seemed
magnified a hundred times. It was like
the blindfold all over again, only this
time, both of us were blind.
His kiss was fiercer this time,
hungrier, his hands seizing my shoulders
while his tongue plundered my mouth.
The pressure of his assault drove me
backwards until I was pressed up
against the wall, the coldness of the tiles
contrasting wonderfully with the warmth
of the water. He seemed at ease in the
dark, but my heart was racing. Every

movement, every brush of his hand, was

an unexpected surprise. My body was
thrumming, every nerve tingling.
Some indeterminable time later, he
broke away. "I believe I promised to
clean you."
"Oh, you did. You know how much
of a dirty girl I am," I said in my best
porno voice.
He chuckled. "That I do. Now hold
still." I heard the squeeze of a lotion
bottle and then something soft yet coarse
began stroking my collarbone.
Apparently the room came with a wash
cloth.
He took his time, working his way
gradually down one arm and then the
other, scrubbing me with tiny circular

motions. The cloth felt wonderful against

my skin, a gentle scrape tempered by
soap and water. I loved the sense of just
being lavished upon. Sebastian may have
called the shots in the bedroom, but he
certainly never left me feeling neglected.
Soon, he turned his attention to my
chest. "This area needs a more personal
touch."
I made a little noise of
encouragement, my body already
yearning for him to accelerate
proceedings.
Squeezing more soap onto his
hands he began to massage my breasts.
The sensation of them sliding between
his fingers, his slickened skin against

mine, was exquisite. Judging by the low

rumble emanating from the darkness, he
was enjoying it too.
He picked up the sponge again to
work my stomach, back, and legs,
lathering me with a thick layer of suds
that he made no effort to wash off. I soon
learned why when the stream of water
suddenly vanished from above, only to
reappear moments later in front of me. I
hadn't realised that shower head was
detachable.
"I've heard it said that a shower
head is a girl's best friend," Sebastian
murmured.
"I've never had the chance to try
one," I replied, although I was already
beginning to believe it might be true.

You'd think after a life time of showers,

you'd pretty much understand what
they're capable of. They're pleasant,
soothing, warming, but that's about the
extent of it. Only in Sebastian's hands,
this became something else entirely. The
way he danced the jet across my skin,
constantly alternating the pressure,
distance, and angle, was incredible. I
don't know if it was just the sensuality of
the experience, or the darkness, or
Sebastian's expert technique, but it left
my entire body tingling.
"Then allow me." With obvious
relish, he began working his way slowly
down my torso, meticulously washing
every part. The closer he drew to my

aching sex, the more I began to squirm.

"Widen your stance," he ordered,
and then suddenly, the stream was
between my legs.
"Oh Jesus," I cried. The warmth of
it, the relentless rhythm, was like nothing
I'd ever experienced before. It was like
a thousand tiny fingers, all stroking me at
once, and they weren't easing me
towards orgasm, they were hurling me
through the door as fast as humanely
possible.
While the water strummed my clit,
he leaned in close, bracing my ass with
one hand and drawing my nipple into his
mouth, swirling and sucking and nipping
softly. I felt my knees begin to buckle,
but he held me firmly, bringing the

nozzle closer still. The stimulation was

almost too much it rode that
impossibly thin line between pleasure
and discomfort but I was beyond
caring. Already, everything was
beginning to tighten inside me. It was
like I could feel each and every drop of
water vibrate all the way into my core.
"I'm coming, Sebastian. I'm
coming."
He let out an affirmative grunt and
sealed his mouth over mine as my climax
took hold. Everything seemed to shrink
away, then explode outward in a giant,
rolling wave of ecstasy. I was glad he
was supporting me, because I'm quite
sure I would have ended up splayed on

the tiles, if he hadn't been.

"So, there may be some merit to
that rumour," he said, my body sagging
against his.
"I believe so," I replied.
"Especially if you're pressed for time.
What was that, one minute?"
He laughed. "Something like that."
I felt utterly drained, but being
pressed up against him again reminded
me that only half our bargain had been
fulfilled. "I think it may be my turn with
that," I said, fumbling along his arm until
I found the shower head. "I'm not the
only one that needs a thorough wash."
"If you insist."
Partly out of a desire for revenge,
but mostly because I wanted to savour

his body, I took my time, painstakingly

soaping and rinsing every inch of him. I
was getting used to my blindness now,
used to the amplified sense of touch it
lent me. In the past, with the blindfold,
I'd always been in a position of
submission, but here I was free to
explore. I loved the way his body felt in
the water, hard and soft and slick all at
once. With only my hands to guide me I
roamed across his skin, running them
gently over the firm rises of his triceps,
the thick slabs of his chest, revelling in
every perfect ridge.
Even in the dark, I was constantly
aware of his cock. Every so often as I
shifted position it would graze against

me, sending a bolt of lust shooting

through my veins. I enjoyed those little
moments of contact, the sharp breaths
and soft noises they drew from him.
Soon, I abandoned soap and water
all together, slipping in close until my
face was against his chest. "I have a
special cleaning implement I think
would be very effective on you," I
purred.
"Is that so?" he said, more than a
little strain evident in his voice. I could
tell he was close to breaking point.
"It is. Allow me to show you."
Wrapping my hands around the
hard globes of his ass, I drew his nipple
into my mouth. He gasped and rocked
against me, pushing his shaft firmly

against my stomach. I teased him like

that for half a minute, but soon, I was
unable to contain myself any longer.
Kissing a trail down his stomach I
dropped to my knees and seized his
length in my hand. He felt impossibly
thick, and seemed to be growing more
with every passing moment. I loved
how, even with no visual stimulation, he
was utterly ready for me; a perfect
picture of virility.
He let out a long groan as I took
him into my mouth, pumping him from
the base and sliding my lips up and
down with painstaking slowness. He felt
fleshy and soft and I took my time tasting
every inch of him, dragging my tongue

along the trembling ridge underneath.

Heat rushed through his shaft as he
swelled further still, but I took it in
stride, gradually easing him deeper
down my throat.
"Your lips are fucking magic," he
said.
I loved being in that position. It
was submissive, yet utterly empowering.
For the first time since we'd started, I
wished the lights were on. I wanted to
look at him, to see the pleasure I was
giving, to watch his face contort as I
gradually brought him undone.
His fingers found my head,
tightening around my hair, guiding me
and quickening my pace, and for a while
I gave control over to him.

Eventually, an idea came to me. "I

wonder if this is just for women," I
mused, pulling back momentarily, and
before he could reply, I aimed the jet of
water at his balls and resumed sucking
him. The effect was instantaneous. He
sunk back against the wall, a long,
throaty sound falling from his mouth.
Continuing to stroke him with one hand, I
began experimenting with the shower
head, teasing every part of him as he had
me.
"Fuck, Sophia, that's incredible.
Don't stop."
Sensing that he was close, I
focused my efforts, locking my lips just
below his crown and stroking rapidly,

keeping the shower head focused strong

and close. His body stiffened and he let
out a single guttural roar, then spurted
down my throat. His orgasm seemed to
last forever, and I pumped furiously,
milking every drop.
"Jesus Christ," he said, his voice
ragged. "That was a huge load."
I giggled and nodded, still tasting
him on my tongue.
"I may have to have one of these
installed," he said.
"You won't hear me object."
He reached out to take my arms,
pulling me to my feet. "Put it back for
now. I want to fuck you under the
water."
I was only too happy to oblige. My

exploration of his body had left me

aching for him.
Once the nozzle was back in place,
he spun me around and positioned
himself behind me. "Brace yourself
against the wall," he said. "I'm done
being gentle." The way he said that made
my sex clench.
I did as commanded, laying my
hands on the tiles, and in a moment he
was pushing inside me. I let out a long
breath. There was no initial sting now,
no moment of accommodation. He fit
inside me as though he'd always been
there, as though he'd never left. There
was a sense of completeness to that
moment that I'd never felt with anyone

else. A transcendence, where physical

pleasure rose up and became something
more.
From the moment he entered me, I
could tell he was going to be true to his
word. Each thrust of his hips was long
and hard, and my body shook with the
impact. After such exquisite foreplay, it
was exactly what I wanted. An
explosion of all of our pent up desire.
With my body angled upward, each
punishing thrust stroked the bundle of
nerves at my core, sending ripples of
pleasure rolling through me. The air
around us was heavy with steam, and I
drew it into my lungs, savouring the
warmth as it flowed through me.
Wrapping one hand around my hip,

he seized my hair with the other, tugging

my head backwards and sending a
delicious sting through my scalp. There
was something so raw about being
fucked like that, standing up, darkness
all around, my body trapped roughly in
his grip. The ferocity of his movements
hurt a little, but that only excited me
more.
The sounds emanating from his
throat were low, almost bestial, as he
took from me what I'd been teasing all
night. His size meant I could feel every
pulse of lust, every firm ridge and soft
edge.
"I promised I was going to fuck
you hard," he said, pausing momentarily

only to hammer back into me again.

"You did," I replied, although they
barely sounded like words.
"Is this what you wanted?"
"You know it is."
The heat inside me continued to
build. It was a raging fire. Impossible to
ignore. My muscles began to contract,
but there was nowhere for them to go.
His hardness was everywhere, filling
me, stretching me, claiming me. As my
moans sunk lower in my throat there was
a flooding sensation in my brain and that
fire suddenly exploded. It shot out from
my toes to my head, leaving me
trembling and gasping for air.
A few moments later, he came too.
There was a rush of heat, then a roar,

and then his fingers were biting into my

side as he slammed himself into me,
forcing my whole body against the wall.
"Christ," he said, when his hips
finally slowed.
"Mmmm."
He pulled out of me, and despite
the slight sting of my now raw flesh, my
body complained at the absence.
Spinning me around, he trapped my lips
in a kiss.
"And that is why we wait."
I laughed. "That's easy to say
now."
His hands found my ass, and he
gave a little squeeze. "I wouldn't worry
too much. If I'm being totally honest I can

never resist you for very long. And when

this is all over, I plan on spending more
time inside you than out."
"Well now, that's exactly what a
girl wants to hear."

CHAPTER TWELVE
Sophia
When I woke the next morning,
Sebastian was already up. He was
sitting in the room's only chair already
fully dressed, idly thumbing his chin and
staring off into space.
"Morning," I said.
He jolted a little. "Oh. Good
morning."
"Everything okay?" I asked,
stretching lazily.
"Yeah, everything's fine. Better

than fine, really."

I slid down the bed and sat in front
of him. "Oh yeah, how's that?"
He held up the prepaid phone that
had been hidden in his other hand.
"We've got something. My guy at the
Federal Police ran our attackers' faces
through their database and actually came
back with matches."
The look on his face told me that
perhaps this wasn't all good news. "Well
that's great, right? Who were they?"
He gave a non-committal nod.
"Our would-be killer seems to be
working on his own, because he didn't
use Alpha guys. It looks like he farmed
the job out and basically hired two hit
men. Those two guys were known

muscle for Anton Silva, who is

suspected to be one of the biggest crime
bosses in the country."
"Wow. Okay. Just another small
fish then."
He shot me a smile, but it was
short lived.
"So what do we do with that info?"
I asked.
His lips compressed and he let out
a little sigh. "I'm still working that out.
This guy is the real deal, Sophia. Drugs,
weapons, prostitution; he runs it all. If
we play it right, we may be able to use
him to get to whoever wants us dead, but
one misstep..."
He didn't need to finish the

sentence. I could fill in the blanks. I felt

a lump building in my throat, but I
nodded anyway. "I get it. Bad guy."
"Bad guy," Sebastian confirmed.
"Anyway, Joe is on his way, so we can
talk about it more when he arrives, but I
think our best bet is to just try and buy
Silva off. He's a criminal, which means
he has a price. Everyone has a price."
"But how do we get him to take the
money without killing us in the process?
I mean, he was hired to take us out and
he screwed it up. We can't exactly just
show up at his doorstep."
Sebastian stared me dead in the
eye. "Actually, that's exactly what I'm
thinking I might do."
I searched his voice for humour,

but found none. "Are you insane?"

This time he smiled. "A little,
maybe. But I think it will work. He's not
going to just gun me down on sight, not if
I give him the right incentive first. He
may be ruthless, but you don't get where
he is unless you're practical as well.
He'll hear me out, probably figuring he
can finish the job afterwards if he
doesn't like what he hears."
"That's a lot of assumptions for us
to risk our lives on."
He gave a heavy nod. "I know. But
what other choice do we have? Joe's
searches came back empty. Our enemy
holds all the cards, and this is the only
lead we've got. If we want our lives

back, I don't see any other option."

I wracked my brains for an
alternative. "I don't suppose we could
just call Silva? Avoid putting ourselves
in the firing line?"
Sebastian barked out a laugh. "I
can call to set up the meet, but getting
Silva himself on the phone will be all
but impossible. You don't become a
criminal kingpin by discussing organised
murder over the phone."
My cheeks reddened. That made
sense.
As much as it scared me to admit, I
realised he was right. We'd been on the
back foot for so long and we'd stay
there, unless we took a chance. This
might be our last opportunity. But,

beyond that, I was sick of running, sick

of being hunted. If I was going to be put
in danger again, I wanted it to be on my
terms.
"Okay, if you think we can pull it
off, then I'm sold," I said. "But don't
think for one second that just because
you kept saying 'I' while I was saying
'we' that you're going in there alone."
His expression hardened. "There's
no need for both of us to take the risk.
I'm not going to let you put yourself in
danger because of my mistakes
anymore."
"Well I'm not letting you walk into
that death trap by yourself," I countered.
"You think it's any easier for me seeing

you put yourself at risk? If you went in

there and didn't come out, it would rip
me open knowing that I might have be
able to do something. I may not have
much experience with this sort of thing,
but last time shit hit the fan, I stepped up.
Maybe I can be useful again." It amazed
me how easily I was able to talk about
that incident. Maybe I really was
becoming desensitised.
I put a hand on his knee. "We're in
this together, Sebastian. Whatever
happens."
He stared at me for a full ten
seconds, somehow managing to look
touched yet incredibly anxious.
Eventually, though, he broke into a sad
little smile. "Together it is, then," he

said softly, reaching out to squeeze my

hand. And somehow it felt like an
incredibly tender moment, instead of an
insane suicide pact. Yep, definitely
desensitised.
Joe arrived a short time later and
we went out for breakfast to discuss
everything. He sat, wearing an
unreadable expression, while Sebastian
recounted everything that had happened
so far. He'd heard the short version, but
now he was getting the gory details.
"If you have any other suggestions,
I'm all ears," said Sebastian, when the
story was over.
Joe pondered. He didn't even look
surprised. "Nothing springs to mind," he

said eventually. "Whoever this is, they're

not making many mistakes. When I
looked through our system, I couldn't
find any loose ends. According to the
database, nobody besides you and your
team swiped into your Alpha house.
They cleared everything. If we don't take
this chance, we might not get another."
A scary thought suddenly occurred
to me. "If you were using the Alpha
system," I said to Joe, "doesn't that mean
they could have tracked you somehow?
Maybe picked up your trail?"
Joe smiled. "I wouldn't worry
about that. I've got a few tricks up my
sleeve."
I shot a questioning look at
Sebastian, but he just shrugged. He

certainly didn't seem concerned, so I let

the issue drop.
He scooped up his coffee and
threw back the last sip. "Well, there's no
time like the present." Reaching into his
pocket, he removed his phone and
tapped the screen several times before
lifting it to his ear.
"Hi. My name is Sebastian. Your
boss and I have unfinished business. Tell
him I will give him a million dollars for
five minutes of his time."

*****

Everyone stayed silent on the trip

to see Anton. Sebastian's million dollar
offer had apparently been enough to buy
us entry, but what would happen beyond
that was anyone's guess. The closer we
drew, the more heavy my stomach felt. I
knew I wanted this, to be proactive and
take matters into my own hands, but that
didn't change the fact that we were
driving straight into the lair of a man
who, only two days ago, had been trying
to kill us. When my brain phrased it like
that, it just seemed like a really, really
bad idea.
For his part, Sebastian wore a look
of grim determination. That comforted
me a little. To anyone who was paying

attention it said 'fuck with me and you'll

regret it,' and I hoped Anton would get
the message. I suspected we'd need
every little edge we could get.
We were meeting him in the back
room of a Kings Cross strip club, which
he undoubtedly owned. I'd never really
spent much time in the Cross. It's as
close to a red light district as Sydney
has, and thus the people there are most
certainly not my sort of crowd. Between
the metric fuckton of makeup that made
all the women look like drug addicted
clowns and the rather scandalous skin to
clothes ratio on display, whenever I
visited I wound up feeling trashier just
by proximity.
The sight outside the window was

no different than I remembered. Even on

a weeknight, the main strip was seething
with neon light and fake tan. We pulled
up outside the club. We'd hired a limo
and made a big point of being seen
stepping out of it by the two
bodybuilders, with sleeve tattoos and
steely expressions, who stood guard out
front. For appearances, Joe was once
again relegated to the role of driver. We
had to look calm, in control, and
dangerous, rather than desperate and out
of options.
"You ready for this?" asked
Sebastian.
I took a deep breath. "As ready as
I'm going to be."

"Good." He shot me a reassuring

smile. "And don't worry, we'll be fine."
I nodded, trying to let some of that
confidence seep into my skin.
The men looked us up and down as
we approached. They were both as tall
as Sebastian, but much wider, which
made them incredibly intimidating, by
any standards. They looked like
someone had taken two plastic bags and
crammed them full of walnuts. The
larger of them smirked as his eyes rolled
over my body, which gave me the
sudden urge to go home and take a long
shower, but that leer fell away once he
turned to Sebastian. My partner was
practically radiating danger now, and it

was enough to make even these guys

pause.
"My name is Sebastian and this is
Sophia. We're here to see Anton." His
voice betrayed no emotion. 'Just
business as usual,' it said.
"Who is Anton?" said giant number
one, a look of mock confusion appearing
on his face. "I think you must have the
wrong place, my friend."
Sebastian didn't even miss a beat.
"I don't have time to play games. You
know as well as I do that your boss is
expecting us."
The man glanced at his partner,
who gave a little nod and disappeared
upstairs.
The first guy stared daggers at us

for several seconds. Apparently he

didn't like having his little power trip
interrupted.
"I need to search you," he said.
"We're not stupid enough to be
carrying here," Sebastian replied.
The guy shrugged. "Then you've
got nothing to worry about."
Sebastian waited a few beats then
gave a curt nod and stretched his arms
out to the sides, gritting his teeth while
the guard patted him from head to toe.
He wasn't gentle. He almost looked
disappointed when he came up emptyhanded.
"They'll probably check for these,"
Sebastian had said to me earlier,

nodding towards our guns. "I'd never get

one past them, but you just might. Most
men struggle to see women as a threat.
They never check as carefully."
That had made sense at the time,
but as the guard stepped towards me,
suddenly the pistol holstered against my
inner thigh felt like it weighed a
thousand kilogrammes. What would he
do if he found it? Laugh and take it
away? Or flip out and call his buddies?
He reached out and gave my
shoulders and back a cursory check,
before moving down my front. He
lingered a little below my breasts, the
smirk returning to his face, and I had to
stop myself from dry retching in his face.
I could almost feel the primal frustration

simmering below Sebastian's skin, but

he restrained himself.
My cheeks started burning as the
goon's hands gradually drew closer to
the weapon. Despite what Sebastian had
said, his search seemed very thorough.
He made it as far as the top of my thighs,
just inches from the butt of the gun, but
as he began to dip between my legs,
Sebastian let out a dangerous little
growl. "If you want to keep that hand for
more than the next three seconds, I
suggest you stop there."
The man hesitated, eyes locked
with Sebastian. It felt like that night, at
my work function, all over again where
he'd sent Taylor fleeing with a simple

stare. I wasn't sure it was going to work

this time the guard looked like he had
something to prove but after a few
moments, he pulled away. I let out a
silent sigh of relief. He finished the
search in a matter of seconds.
By that point the second thug had
reappeared, and he gestured for us to
follow him inside. It was early by strip
club standards about six in the
evening so the show hadn't even
started yet. The only people in the place
were two bartenders milling behind the
counter, and a couple of bored looking,
scantily clad girls that I brilliantly
deduced were strippers. The lack of
activity meant that every set of eyes was
on us as we crossed the room, which

only added to my discomfort.

We were led past another two
action movie extras and up a narrow
staircase. Unlike the unapologetically
tacky stage area, the room we wound up
in was fairly inoffensive. It was
basically an office, with several chairs,
a filing cabinet, and a large desk. The
man behind it stood as we entered.
"Welcome," he said. At first
glance he didn't appear particularly
frightening. He looked to be in his early
fifties. Lebanese maybe, or
Mediterranean, and with his balding
head, slightly retro clothes, and easy
smile, he seemed like the kind of guy
who'd be found taking his kids to soccer

practice on the weekends or playing nine

holes with his friends. But the longer I
looked, the more I realised how wrong
that impression was. It was the eyes,
mostly. There was something cold
flickering there, something calculating. I
got the sense that his friendly appearance
was well cultivated, and it could drop
away at any moment.
Then, of course, there were the
two extra men who had melted across
the doorway as we stepped inside. They
were doing their best to look bored, but
the way they stood, with their jackets
casually thrown open to expose their
weapons, said that was an illusion too.
The message was clear. We weren't
leaving unless Anton wanted us to.

"Thank you for seeing us,"

Sebastian replied.
Anton smiled wider and spread his
hands. "When someone makes an offer
such as you did, the least a man like me
can do is hear him out, wouldn't you
agree?"
Sebastian nodded. "I was hoping
that would be the case."
"Besides," Anton continued, "it's
not often I get a chance to sit down and
talk with two people I condemned just
days earlier. I had men out there looking
for you when you called, you know. And
now, here you are. I must admit, I'm
curious." The lightness of his tone sent a
shiver down my spine. Oh yes, this was

a man for whom killing was of no

consequence.
But Sebastian appeared unshaken.
"Well, like I said, I appreciate it."
"Did you bring what you
promised?" Anton asked.
Taking my cue, I lifted the duffel
bag I was carrying and dumped it on the
table. I'd been quite surprised to find out
that a million dollars in cash really did
only occupy a few square feet. I thought
that was just in the movies.
He didn't even bother to count it.
He just unzipped the top and glanced
inside. "Wonderful." I figured most
people were too afraid to actually try
and rip him off.
He gestured for the two of us to sit.

"So, what brings you here? I have to say,

this is a little unconventional. I'm not
conceited enough to say I've never
messed up a hit before, but those few
lucky souls are usually eager to get as
far away from me as possible. You and
your lovely lady, on the other hand, have
strolled right into my lap."
This was all part of the plan.
Intrigue him enough to hear us out, then
throw so much money at him that he
couldn't resist. I just wished he didn't
sound so amused by it all.
"It's simple, really," Sebastian
replied. "You have information we want.
We're willing to do what's necessary to
get it."

Anton laughed. "Nothing is ever

that simple in this business. This
information, I take it, relates to the
people who want you dead?"
Sebastian nodded. "Indeed."
Anton leaned back in his chair and
laced his fingers together. "And what's
to stop me simply refusing and then
having Shawn and Iman here finish the
job?" I glanced behind us and saw that
the two men now had their hands resting
on their pistols. I knew that if Anton
gave the order, there would be no
hesitation. We'd be dead in seconds.
Despite how futile it seemed, I found my
hand inching towards the hem of my
dress.

"Money, mostly," replied

Sebastian.
Anton shrugged. "I already got
paid a lot of money to take you out, and
that was only half. Now that you have
kindly brought yourselves to me, I can
get the rest when I report you dead. Not
to mention the million you brought along.
This has already been an incredibly
profitable transaction for me."
"I'm sure we can come up with a
sum that will convince you."
The other man studied us for
several seconds. "And what about my
existing client? I don't know him
personally, but I'd hazard a guess that
he'll be none too happy with me if I help

you. Not to mention the damage he could

do to my reputation; client
confidentiality and so forth."
Sebastian's gaze turned ice cold.
"If you tell us what you know, I assure
you that he won't be around to cause you
any problems."
Anton nodded slowly, like he'd
just gotten the answer he was expecting.
"And what do you think about all this,
sweetheart?" he said, turning to me.
"You haven't said a word, so far."
That had been part of the plan too.
Sebastian was much more familiar with
this game than I was, so while I wasn't
willing to let him leave me behind, I
agreed to let him do all the talking. But I
couldn't exactly ignore the question.

"I think it would be in your best

interests to take the deal." As soon as the
words left my mouth, I realised how they
sounded. I hadn't intended to threaten
him.
But apparently I wasn't as
intimidating as I'd feared, because Anton
just burst out laughing. "Is that right? I
have to admit, when Leo told me you'd
tracked me down, I was a little
surprised. That must have taken some
serious pull. It makes me wonder." He
had that calculating look in his eye
again, like he was trying to decide
whether we were dangerous or stupid. I
realised then that we were dealing with
a very smart man. Callous, relentless,

but also incredibly shrewd.

Sebastian seemed to recognise an
opportunity. "There is more at stake here
than you realise, Anton. You don't want
to be caught up in the middle of this."
He cocked his head to one side.
"Why don't you let me be the judge of
that?"
He stared intently at us, weighing
our case, our lives reduced to little more
than dollar signs on a hypothetical page.
Now that we'd played our hand, he knew
how much money was really at stake. I
assumed he was debating whether to
contact his client and start a bidding
war. If he knew how powerless we
really were, it wouldn't even be a
question, but thankfully he was still wary

of exactly what we might be capable of.

I did my best to look calm, but my
heart was raging like a jackhammer in
my chest.
After what felt like a lifetime, he
spoke. "Ten million."
"Done," replied Sebastian
instantly.
I let out the breath I hadn't even
realised I was holding. It was a
ludicrous sum cocktails on a tropical
island for all eternity kind of money
but the truth was, we were desperate.
We needed him more than he needed us.
Besides, I was fairly sure Sebastian
could afford it.
Judging by the look in Anton's eye,

I think he realised that too. He seemed to

be considering if he could get even
more.
"I don't have a name for you," he
said. "I make it my business to know as
little as possible about my clients. It's
safer that way, if anyone comes
looking." He shot us an ironic grin.
"What I do have is the phone number that
he originally contacted us on to organise
the meet."
Sebastian grimaced. "He won't be
using his real phone for this. It's too
easily tracked. What about a
description? Anything that might help me
identify him? I have reason to believe
it's someone I'm familiar with."
Anton chuckled softly. "I don't

meet them myself. Too risky." He

nodded to one of the men in the
doorway. "Iman organises the hits."
Sebastian and I both turned to the
thug, but he simply shrugged. "He was
man. Business man. It was dark, I don't
see much." His voice was heavily
accented, and it was clear English
wasn't his first language. We weren't
going to get much out of him.
"Sorry," said Anton.
Sebastian brought his hand up to
cover his mouth and stared into space
for several seconds.
"I don't suppose we could just call
him? See if you recognise the voice?" I
asked.

"Maybe," Sebastian replied. "But

then we give away our hand. And he
might not answer at all. You said you
guys used text messages?"
Anton nodded.
"Then yeah, a call will probably
just scare him off."
And then I had an idea. "What does
your client know?" I asked Anton. "Did
you tell him we got away?"
Anton looked surprised for a
moment, but he recovered quickly. "He
knows. We had to go in and clean up
your mess." He didn't sound even
slightly upset about the two men we'd
killed. He might as well have been
discussing spilt juice. "He was not

pleased, although we assured him we

were doing everything we could to find
you."
"Can you organise another meet?" I
continued. "You said he still owes you
half on completion of the contract, right?
So tell him you've taken us out and you
want the rest of your money."
Anton licked his lips. "This is not
part of our deal. I would be exposing
myself for you."
But Sebastian was nodding now, a
hint of a smile on his face. "Fifteen
million," he said. "And five more when
we have him. Plus you get to keep
whatever money he brings."
Anton's eyes widened a fraction. I
could practically feel his sense of greed

and self-preservation squaring off inside

him. He got to his feet, and for one brief
terrifying second, I thought he'd changed
his mind, but then he extended his hand.
"You have a deal."
The tension drained out of
Sebastian's face, and he reached up and
shook. "I'll have my guy drop the money
off." He glanced at the two men behind
us. "We'll need to borrow a few of your
men."
Anton nodded. "I expected as
much. Go with these two. They'll make
the necessary arrangements. It's been
good doing business with you."
Sebastian stared at him for several
seconds, before inclining his head ever

so slightly and turning towards the door.

I followed, doing my best not to
break into a grin. Somehow, we'd pulled
it off. The light at the end of the tunnel
had suddenly grown that little bit
brighter.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sebastian
The meet was set for early
evening, in an old warehouse in
Macdonaldtown, on the outskirts of
Sydney. The location couldn't have been
more of a movie stereotype if it tried.
Cracked windows, rusted girders, piles
of industrial detritus littering the floor. It
certainly was empty, though. The roads
nearby were completely devoid of
people or cars. Movie stereotypes are
stereotypes for a reason.

At this point, things were basically

out of our hands. Sophia and I sat in the
back seat of Anton's car, waiting for the
trap to be sprung. Whoever was on the
other end of the phone didn't seem to
suspect anything. Their text message just
sounded relieved. If everything went to
plan, in a little while, we'd have our
traitor in custody.
I looked over to Sophia, who was
staring out the window. She'd handled
herself well with Anton. Part of me had
wanted to burst out laughing when she'd
threatened him, but I'd restrained myself,
and somehow we'd bluffed our way
through it. We made a good team. She
saw the things I missed and she wasn't

afraid to speak up when she did.

She glanced up and caught me
looking, and a smile lit her face. "Show
time, soon." That smile was like a drug
to me now. It was my reason to get up
each morning. And every time I saw it, I
wanted just a little more. When this was
all over, I was going to make it my
mission to put that smile there as often as
possible.
I nodded.
She gazed at me for several
seconds, a question poised on her lips.
"Do you think this will be the end of it
all?" she asked.
I exhaled slowly. I didn't want the
dampen the mood of the victory we were
about to win here. "I'm honestly not

sure," I replied. "Whoever the traitor is,

they have a lot of questions to answer.
Once we know his motives, and who
he's working with, we can plan our next
move."
Her shoulders slumped a little, but
she tried to remain stoic. "That makes
sense."
"Hey," I said, reaching out to brush
her cheek with one knuckle. "This is a
big step forward. With any luck, they'll
crack quickly and tell us everything we
need to know. I suspect you'll be back
burning the midnight oil at work and
getting tanked with Ruth and Lou again
in no time."
The smile returned. "I have missed

excessive quantities of wine."

"You're allowed to drink more
than a glass or two with me, you know."
"And be that embarrassing drunk
with the begrudgingly tolerant
boyfriend? I don't think so."
"So maybe I'll have more than one
or two as well."
She raised an eyebrow. "I didn't
realise you did messy drunk."
"I haven't for a few years. But I'm
willing to make an exception for you."
She laughed. "That might just be
the most romantic offer you've ever
made me. It's settled then. When this is
all over, we will drink to excess!"
"Deal," I replied.
Another minute passed. "You

know, something about this still doesn't

sit quite right with me," she said.
"In what way?"
"Well, when you rescued me, you
fought your way through a whole house
of guards, right?"
I nodded.
"So why did they hire out the
killing this time around? Why not use
their own people?"
"That's been bothering me too," I
replied. "So much of this still makes no
sense. Obviously they had their reasons.
Maybe we hurt them worse than we
thought when we raided that house?"
"Maybe," she replied, although she
didn't sound convinced.

"We'll have some answers soon."

"I know," she said.
At that moment, another car
appeared at the gate. It was one of the
fleet of black Alpha BMWs. I felt
something heavy settle in my stomach.
Behind those doors was one of my
brothers. A man I would have trusted
with my life. A man who had betrayed
me. I took a deep breath and tried to
remain calm.
Through the tinted glass window I
watched as the car pulled slowly into the
empty lot and stopped about thirty
meters away. Iman was standing off to
one side, flanked by two of Anton's
thugs. He was doing a good job of

playing the part. He looked impatient,

perhaps even a little bored. Just a guy on
another routine pickup.
For a few moments, nothing
happened; then the back door opened
and out stepped a man.
Ewan.
Something hot surged in my chest.
Until that moment, I think part of me had
still refused to accept it. A tiny voice in
the back of my head, arguing that there
was some other explanation for the way
those assassins had surprised us; a
hacked security system, or a building
flaw we didn't spot. But seeing Ewan
there, delivering payment for our deaths,
meant that I couldn't lie to myself
anymore. The group had been

compromised.
It made me feel so damn stupid. I'd
always believed the group rhetoric,
those wonderful tenants that spoke of
using power for the greater good, but
now I realised how naive that was. The
Alpha Group wasn't some last bastion of
nobility. We were as susceptible to
greed and self-interest as anyone. I still
didn't understand what would possess
Ewan to do these things, but I was going
to do everything in my power to find out.
He would pay for the pain he'd caused.
I looked to Sophia. She had every
right to be wearing an 'I told you so'
expression, but she seemed to
understand the gravity of the situation.

Instead, she just shot me a sympathetic

smile and reached out to squeeze my
knee.
Two Alpha security personnel
followed Ewan out of the car, but after a
few seconds of hushed conversation,
they stayed in place while Ewan began
to stride purposefully over the dust
towards us. I wondered if the guards had
turned on us too, or if they were just
doing their job and simply had no idea
of the traitorous deal going on right
under their noses. I suspected the latter.
In our line of work, you naturally see a
lot of strange things, and they were
taught not to ask questions. Besides,
Ewan had kept them purposefully out of
earshot. If he had nothing to hide, he'd

have brought them in with him. They

were probably just here to stop Iman and
his men trying anything shady. Only a
fool wouldn't tread carefully around
Anton Silva.
It felt like it took Ewan forever to
cross the empty yard. The animal inside
me was raring to simply charge out of
the car and let loose with all my rage,
until he was just a bloody wreck on the
ground, but I knew I needed to hold
back. The situation could get messy in a
heartbeat, if not handled carefully, and
we needed Ewan alive if we wanted any
chance of ending this.
When he was a few feet away from
Anton's men, he stopped. In his hand he

held a plain black briefcase that no

doubt contained the rest of Anton's
money. "You had me worried," he said. I
had the window down ever so slightly,
so we could hear everything clearly.
"When they escaped the house I thought
we'd lost our shot."
Iman smirked. "We find them. Or
rather, they find us."
Ewan's eyes narrowed, but before
he could react, all three of Anton's men
had guns trained on him. The Alpha guys
were good. In a split second they were
both charging forward and reaching
inside their jackets, but they froze as two
more thugs emerged from the shadows
behind them with weapons raised.
"What is this?" Ewan asked, but

there already was a sense of

understanding in his voice.
I nodded to Sophia, and we both
reached for our door handles. I was
expecting fear, but all I saw in his eyes
when they fell on us was surprise,
followed by resignation. The anger
inside me flared. I didn't want him to be
okay with what was coming. I wanted
him to feel the same terror Sophia had,
when he'd taken her from her house. That
raw hopelessness of knowing that there
was nothing left for him, beyond pain
and death.
"This is you, getting what you
deserve," I growled, and before I could
stop myself, I clocked him with an

enormous uppercut that lifted his body

from the ground. I was on top of him,
moments later, my fists a blur in front of
me, my vision clouded red. There were
people yelling behind me, but they were
muted and distant. All that mattered was
Ewan and the pain I wanted him to feel.
It wasn't until Sophia grabbed my
face and yanked my gaze up to hers that
the rest of the world came back into
focus. "Sebastian, stop! You're killing
him!"
I looked down at the crumpled
form below me. Ewan's face was a mask
of blood and dirt. His hair was matted
and his breathing shallow. He wasn't
moving.
I closed my eyes and flung myself

to my feet. I'd never lost control like that

before. It was frightening. And scarier
still, it had felt good. I wanted someone
to blame for everything that had
happened, someone that wasn't myself.
And now that someone had finally
presented himself, I could finally
unleash some of the guilt that was
devouring me from the inside. "I'm
okay," I said. "I'm okay."
The adrenaline was already fading
from my veins. My skin felt hot and my
lungs burned. I'd hit him with everything
I had.
Sophia leaned down to check
Ewan's pulse. "He's alive."
"He's a tough old bastard," I

replied.
"We need to get him somewhere
soon, though, and check him out. You did
quite a number on him."
I nodded. "I'll call in the cavalry."
I walked off towards the corner of
the lot, just to put a little distance
between Ewan and myself, and pulled
out my phone.
"Thomas, I'm going to need a little
help here."

*****

"Doctor says he's alright," said

Thomas, appearing in the doorway.

"You certainly did a number on him."

I grimaced. "That's what Sophia
said."
He pulled up a chair and sat down
next to me, pouring himself a scotch
from the bottle in front of us. It was
about two hours since I'd called him, and
we were inside a small Alpha complex
in the Inner West, which had a couple of
rooms fitted to keep prisoners. Holding
people wasn't something we did often
we pulled strings, we didn't arrest
people but we liked to be prepared,
nonetheless.
He threw back the entire glass in
one sip, wincing with the burn, then
shook his head. "I never suspected he

could do something like this. I mean, he

was a bit of an asshole, sometimes, but
still. Not this."
"I know," I replied. "Is he talking
yet?"
"Not yet. He's awake, but still
pretty groggy. It won't be too long, I
imagine." Something in the way he was
looking at me told me what was coming
next. "You could have called, you know.
When you disappeared, we all assumed
the worst."
I hated that I had to have this
conversation, but there was no avoiding
it. "I know, but at that point I didn't know
who to trust."
A look of hurt crossed his face,
and I didn't blame him. He was my

friend and he deserved my trust. Then

again, I'd thought Ewan deserved it as
well. Would I ever be able to fully trust
these men again? I wanted to think so,
but I suspected there would always be a
niggling doubt. I didn't know what to do
with that. Maybe I could have lived with
it a few years back, but I didn't just have
my life to consider anymore. Sophia
claimed she was okay with the risks, but
that didn't mean I was. I couldn't stand
the thought of ever putting her in
jeopardy again. She deserved the
happiness that came with a normal life, a
life of not constantly looking over your
shoulder. No matter how hard I tried, I
didn't know if I could provide that

anymore.
I took the scotch and refilled both
our glasses, and we drank in silence for
a while. I suspected there would be a lot
of this over the coming days. The news
of Ewan's betrayal had hit the group
hard.
"How's Sophia coping?" Thomas
asked eventually.
I felt a ghost of a smile creep onto
my face. "She actually seems okay. She's
a hell of a lot tougher than she looks."
"I can believe that. Is she still
floating around here? I haven't had a
chance to talk to her."
"No, I sent her back to the main
house with Trey. She wanted to stay, but
it was obvious how wiped out she was.

Besides, there was no reason for her to

be here. At this point, it's just a waiting
game." With Ewan in custody, much of
the danger had passed, but I wasn't
willing to let Sophia go back out into the
real world just yet. Now that we knew
who the traitor was, she'd be safe in the
Alpha house until we could unravel the
rest of Ewan's operation. Soon, this
whole nightmare would be behind us.
A few minutes later, Marcus
walked into the room. "He's awake."
"Does he have anything to say for
himself?" I asked.
"Not yet. He wants to speak to you,
Sebastian. Said he won't talk to anyone
else."

It wasn't a good idea. Despite

having had a little time to process his
betrayal, I still didn't trust myself to be
in the same room as him. Just thinking
about it turned my blood to lava. But
Ewan was a stubborn son of a bitch. If
he wanted me there, he'd hold out until it
happened.
"Take me to him," I said with a
curt nod.
I followed Marcus into the prison
area, and he buzzed me through into
Ewan's cell.
He was slouched on the bed in the
corner of the room. Thomas and Sophia
were right, I really had done a number
on him. His face was a mottled collage

of purple and yellow. Most of his

features were barely recognisable
behind the swelling and broken skin. He
stared up at me, through his one good
eye, still managing to look unafraid.
"So." My voice could have frozen
water.
He sighed heavily. "So."
"Let's get this over with. You
wanted to see me. Well, here I am."
There was a pause. "I'm sorry,
Sebastian."
He couldn't have surprised me any
more if he'd tried. My hands clenched
tight and I took two big steps towards
him until I was close enough to feel his
breath on my skin. "Sorry? That's why
you brought me in here? To apologise? I

don't want your apologies, Ewan! I want

answers!" I realised I was shouting, but I
didn't care. I needed some outlet for all
the anger seething inside me or it was
going to come out through my fists again.
He flinched, but his expression
remained stoic. "I appreciate that. I'm
not going to pretend like that makes it
better. All I want is for you to
understand; everything I did, I did in the
best interests of the group."
"You don't get to decide what's
best for the group. That's not your call
alone," I spat.
"Maybe not, but I didn't see any
other way. She's a liability, Sebastian.
And now you are too. The way you

reacted when she was taken, well, the

council can't afford to have that kind of
weakness. Especially not with
everything else that's happening. So I did
what I thought was necessary."
A trickle of discomfort flowed
down my spine. "What do you mean
everything else? You're responsible for
everything else."
His eyes widened. "You can't be
serious."
"I'm deadly serious. You just
admitted to trying to take both of us out,
but you expect me to believe you weren't
the one who tried to kidnap Sophia?"
He sat up taller, raising his head as
close to mine as possible. "I may have
been concerned about you for a while,

Sebastian, but I didn't do anything about

it until that night with Anton's men in the
safe house. And as God is my witness, I
fucking certainly had nothing to do with
Charlie and Simon. They were my
friends."
His voice was louder now and full
of conviction. It made my head spin.
"So if it wasn't you, who was it?"
"I don't know, but they're still out
there."
"You're lying," I said, but I think it
was more for my benefit than his. The
certainty in his eyes rippled through me.
He studied me. "Maybe I am.
Believe what you like, I guess. It makes
little difference to me at this point." His

eyes narrowed. "But when all of this

comes crashing down around you, don't
say I didn't warn you."
I stared at him for several seconds,
my mind and stomach churning as one. I
desperately wanted not to believe him,
but what reason did he have to lie? Even
if he did convince me, he couldn't think
that would earn him clemency. There
were no excuses for trying to assassinate
a brother. Perhaps he was just messing
with me, a last little 'fuck you' for good
measure, but if that were the case, he
was the best actor in the world. Besides,
the sinking feeling in my belly was
growing more powerful with every
passing second.
The truth was, everything he said

made sense. Ewan and I had never seen

eye to eye, but his dedication to the
group bordered on zealous. Even with
what we thought was proof, right in front
of us, I still hadn't really been able to
see him doing all of this. Add that to the
inconsistencies Sophia had raised
earlier in the car, and the doubt only
grew.
If he was telling the truth then
someone else out there wanted to hurt
the group. And that meant we were all
still in danger.
Including Sophia.
I was out the door before I knew it,
my phone already in my hand. She's
safe. By now she's probably asleep

back in the house with armed guards

stationed all around her. But as the
phone continued to ring out, a chill
rolled through me unlike anything I'd
ever felt before.
Ten rings. Twenty.
No answer.
With desperation clutching at my
lungs, I hung up and called again.
Nothing.
She's not answering because she's
passed out. That's all.
I tried Trey's number, but it went
straight to voicemail. With my heart
beating like a wild drum in my chest, I
raced back to find Thomas.
"Who's still at the house?" I asked.
He recoiled as I drew close, like

he'd seen something horrifying in my

face. "What the hell? What happened?"
"The house," I repeated, barely
even hearing his questions. "Who's
there?"
He licked his lips. "Jav should still
be I think."
I was dialling before he even
finished his sentence, and within a few
rings, Jav picked up.
"Where's Sophia?"
There was a pause. "Sebastian?
What do you mean? She's with you, isn't
she?"
I closed my eyes and drew a
ragged breath. This can't be happening.
"She was coming back to the house with

Trey," I said slowly, my voice

trembling. "She should have been there
an hour ago."
"Trey hasn't been here since he left
to meet you."
My hand shot out to clutch the wall
as the room spun around me. There
could have been other explanations, flat
tires and empty phone batteries, but I
knew that wasn't the case. I could feel
the truth of it right down to my bones.
They had her. Again. And it was my
fault.
All the signs had been there, and
I'd ignored them. And now... oh Christ. I
had all the power in the world at my
hands, and it wasn't enough. I couldn't
even protect the one thing I truly loved.

Trey. He was responsible for this.

Whatever destructive plan he had for the
group, Sophia was somehow involved.
And I'd handed her right to him.
Thomas' expression had slipped
even further. "What is it, Sebastian? Is
Sophia okay?"
But I couldn't respond. I couldn't
even breathe. I felt like I was drowning,
like the air around me had suddenly
thickened into something my body could
no longer process.
Last time I'd had a tail on Sophia
from the start. I knew where they'd taken
her, and I used that purpose and
direction to hone my fear into focus. But
this time she could be anywhere. The

chance of finding her was next to

nothing.
I collapsed against the wall and
buried my head in my hands. I realised I
was sobbing. I wanted to die. I wanted
to curl up into a ball so tightly I just
disappeared. My mind was racing,
desperately searching for any kind of
next move, but it was like trying to catch
the wind in my hands. I had no clues. No
information. No hope.
And then, my phone vibrated in my
hand. The caller ID listed Sophia's
number.
Barely breathing, I swiped the
screen, and a picture of her flashed
before my eyes. She was bound to a slim
wooden chair, her mouth gagged, her

eyes wide with fear. The caption simply

said, "Come alone." It didn't give any
directions, but it told me all I needed to
know. The room in the background was
instantly familiar. It was one of the
control rooms in the old Alpha
headquarters. The place the two of us
had first met.
Trey had Sophia, and he wanted
me to come for her.
I felt an icy calm descend over me,
a sudden sense of clarity that was almost
painfully sharp. Despite how stacked the
situation looked, he'd made a mistake by
inviting me. I didn't know how yet, but I
was going to end this tonight. I'd failed
Sophia too many times already.

I wouldn't fail her again.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Sebastian
There was plenty of muscle
waiting for me when I arrived at
headquarters; at least ten men wearing
suits and impassive expressions. No one
commented as I approached, they just
stood by with their hands on their
holsters as the two closest moved in to
search me. The gun strapped under my
arm was commandeered without even a
frown. I hadn't expected to actually get it
past them, but I had to try anyway.

I'd nearly called in the cavalry.

Thomas had been flipping out trying to
work out what was going on, and it
would have been so easy to explain the
situation and bring the whole team down
here with me. But I took Trey's warning
seriously. He wouldn't hesitate to kill
her if he got even a sniff of Alpha
activity, and I had no idea how far his
eyes and ears reached. If he had the right
alerts set up, she could be dead before
our cars made it a block. I couldn't take
that risk.
When the guards were sure I was
unarmed, they stepped back and I
continued inside. I reached the door that
led to Sophia's prison, but I took a

moment before opening it to draw a deep

breath. I still had no idea how I was
going to get us out of this, but I had to
remain calm. Blacking out, like I did
with Ewan, would get us both killed in a
heartbeat. If I wanted Trey and his
friends to pay, I had to keep my wits
about me. I refused to believe this was
the end. After everything Sophia and I
had been through, an opportunity would
present itself. It had to.
I turned the handle and stepped
inside.
Sophia sat towards one side of the
room, bound to the chair exactly as she
had been in the photo. Her face was
puffy and red.
She cried out through her gag when

she saw me, a visceral, frightened sound

that seemed to echo inside my head.
Without even realising what I was doing,
I began rushing towards her.
"Uh uh," Trey said, stepping into
view and pressing the barrel of his gun
right up against her temple. "That's far
enough."
Sophia seemed to be trying to tell
me something. She'd gone quiet, but her
eyes flicked continuously between Trey
and the door behind me. I had no idea
what it meant. It seemed like all the
cards were pretty much on the table at
this point.
I turned my gaze to Trey. My anger
reared like a rabid dog in my chest, but I

kept it leashed. Focus.

"You," I said, my voice sharp
enough to cut glass.
He blinked a few times, then gave
a shaky little bow. "Me."
The room was empty, apart from
the three of us. Not that it mattered. He
was armed and his goons were just a
few steps away.
I studied him for several seconds.
He mostly looked like himself. His smile
held the same playfulness it always had,
but there was something dark seething
behind his eyes now too, something off. I
had no idea how he'd kept that hidden
for so long. "Why?" I asked.
He grinned. "That's the million
dollar question, isn't it?"

"Million dollar? So it's money you

want?"
"Oh, God no," he replied with a
laugh. "Bad choice of phrasing, I guess.
No, I may not be worth as much as you,
Sebastian, but I'm perfectly comfortable.
This is about so much more than that."
The motive behind the attacks had
bothered me constantly. I'd never quite
been able to make the pieces fit. "You
killed Charlie and Aaron."
Trey nodded. "Guilty." He didn't
show even the slightest sign of remorse.
"How could you do that? How
could you kill your own brothers? We
took you in, made you part of the family,
and this is how you repay us?"

Trey's expression darkened. "I was

never part of the family, Sebastian. I may
have the tattoo, but I never had the
respect."
I gave a sour laugh. "Respect?
Seriously, that's what this is about? Poor
little Trey is feeling under-appreciated?"
His jaw tightened. "Even now, you
laugh at me." He gave the pistol a little
shake. "Not wise to mock a man with a
gun."
For a moment, I thought maybe I'd
gone too far, but eventually he relaxed.
"You know, my dad used to tell me
about you guys, back when I was a kid,"
he continued. "I know he wasn't
supposed to, but he did. He used to tell

me the kinds of things you did, the kind

of power you had. I used to dream about
the day I'd be a part of that. Then you
finally invited me to join, and it was the
best day of my life. I finally had a
chance to prove myself. I spent the next
three years busting my ass for the group,
but in the end, you know what I had to
show for it? The same shitty jobs and
cruel jokes as when I started."
"The group is a lifelong
commitment, Trey. Things don't happen
overnight. You can't just waltz in and
expect to be running the show."
"You did. You were, what, twenty
seven when they invited you to the
council? And dad was just twenty five.
Not to mention Marcus. You promote

that guy over me?" There was

something wild in his expression now,
something broken. Clearly this wound
had been festering for some time. "Dad
didn't invite me to the group to be a
fucking errand boy. I'm capable of
better. I deserve better."
"Yeah, well your dad would be
turning in his grave if he could see you
now." The words left my mouth before I
realised I'd said them.
Trey's mouth parted in a snarl and
he flung the gun upwards at me, his arm
trembling. "You take that back," he
hissed. "You take that back! He'd
understand. He'd be proud I finally
stepped up and did something. He wasn't

the sort of man who let other people

walk all over him, and neither am I."
"So what is all this then? Revenge?
Kill a few group members and make
yourself feel better?"
The smile returned to Trey's face,
but it was off somehow, crooked, like I
was looking at a reflection of it in a
splintered mirror. "A little, maybe. But
there's more to it than that. That's the
problem with the group now. You don't
think grand enough. Besides, I'm not the
one you should really be talking to about
revenge."
I cocked my head. "What's that
supposed to mean?"
"Well, as much as I'd love to take
all the credit for everything, I have to

confess I didn't do it alone. I had a little

help from someone who had a slightly
more personal stake in all of this." He
raised his voice. "You can come in now,
babe."
My eyes darted to the door just in
time to see a woman step through.
"Hello, Sebastian," she said.
My jaw dropped. It had been years
since I'd seen her, but those perfect
features and golden locks were
unmistakable.
Liv.
For about ten seconds, nobody
spoke. She merely smiled, radiating
satisfaction while my mouth worked
wordlessly. The sight of her made me

feel like I was falling, like everything

else was zipping past around me. My
stomach heaved, my skin prickled, my
lungs seemed frozen in my chest. A
million thoughts crashed through my
head. For a few moments I was actually
certain I was dreaming.
"You're alive," I said finally.
Liv let out a little giggle. "As
observant as ever, I see." She seemed to
have actually dressed up for the
occasion. Between the long black gown
she wore and the elegant clutch under
her arm, she looked like she'd come
directly from some kind of fancy charity
dinner.
I took a step towards her, my arm
twitching forward ever so slightly

before I stopped myself. "I saw your

body."
"You saw a body. Some poor girl
they found in an alley in The Cross.
OD'd, from memory. A bit of decoration,
some creative police reporting, courtesy
of Trey, and poof," she made a fist then
popped it in front of her, "I was dead."
I felt like my eyes were about to
pop out of my head. Turning away, I
forced them closed. "Do you know what
that did to me?"
Her voice was impossibly cold. "It
hurt, I imagine. I hope it did. After the
way you left me, you deserved to hurt."
She had the same callousness to her
demeanour now that Trey did. It changed

her. That feminine allure was still there,

but it was hardened, tempered by years
of bitterness. Two people with huge
chips on their shoulders; in a morbid
way, they made the perfect couple.
"I left to protect you, Liv." I
gestured to the room. "To protect you
from all of this."
"I didn't want your protection," she
spat. "I wanted you. But apparently that
was too much to ask."
I had no idea how I was supposed
to be dealing with this. I'd never been so
confused in my life.
"So now you're with him?" I asked.
"You can't have me, so you take this
insecure, traitorous little shit instead?"
Treys snarled and lifted the gun

once more, but Liv raised her hand.

"Easy, Trey."
She turned back to me. "Yes, I'm
with him. After you left, it felt like the
world had ended. I gave up my life for
you, Sebastian. My dreams. Everything.
And then you dropped me without so
much as an explanation. When I ran into
Trey one day, I was desperately looking
for a friend, and at first, that's exactly
what it was. But soon enough it turned
into something else. He was there for me
when no one else was, and so I was
there for him too."
She shot Trey a smile, but even
that seemed to lack true joy. I wondered
how much of their relationship was real

and how much was simply fuelled by

spite. "Unlike you, he's not afraid to be
himself with me. He doesn't treat me like
a child who can't handle the truth. He
told me who he was, who you were, the
way you all treated him, and soon it
became clear that our goals overlapped.
I realised what we had to do."
I glanced at Sophia, hoping the
sight of her would steady me a little. She
looked almost as surprised as I felt.
"Well, it looks like you
succeeded," I said heavily. "You've got
me. Whatever it is you want, Sophia has
nothing to do with it. You can let her go
now. This is between you two, me, and
the group."
Sophia let out a high pitched

squeal and shook her head rapidly. I

loved that she wasn't willing to leave me
behind, but I wasn't going to let her
throw her life away for my sake. I'd cost
her so much already.
"Well, isn't that touching," Liv
replied, her voice dripping with scorn.
"Trey told me you two had fallen hard
for each other." For the first time, she
turned her attention to Sophia. Walking
closer, she dipped a hand under her chin,
stroking it with one finger. Sophia tried
to pull away, but Liv's grip closed
around her face, angling her head
upwards. Every fibre of my being
wanted to stride over there and tear
those hands away but, somehow, I

restrained myself. We were still poised

on a knife's edge. All I could do was
watch as Liv appraised Sophia, envy
and hatred blazing in her eyes. "To be
honest, I'm not sure I see what all the
fuss is about."
She turned back to me. "You want
us to let her go? Well, that's entirely up
to you. Let's see exactly how much you
love her." She nodded to Trey.
"It's simple really," he said,
gesturing to the Alpha computer terminal
at the end of the room. "You log me into
the system, we release her."
"I don't understand," I replied.
"You want council access to the
network?"
He grinned. "Remember what I

said about thinking big? No, council

access won't be enough I'm afraid. I
want the main international database. My
employers want access to everything."
"Your employers?"
He spread his hands. "The
Syndicate. You don't think we hired all
those men ourselves, do you? No, we've
had a little support. Once I told them
what we could bring to the table, it
wasn't difficult to convince them to give
me a position in their organisation. A
senior position."
So The Syndicate was involved. I
shook my head. The level of betrayal
was beyond anything I could have
imagined. Trey was quite happy to

destroy the entire group, all two

thousand years of history, to feed his
desperate ego. And Liv, my God. I knew
I'd hurt her, but I never dreamed she'd be
capable of something like this. Then
again, one look at her and it was clear
that the woman I'd fallen in love with
was nowhere in sight. All that was left
was a bitter parody.
I needed to focus. Something he'd
said didn't make sense. "Only the current
Archon can give you that kind of access.
You know that."
He gave a little laugh. "This isn't
the time to play games, Sebastian. What
do you think we've been doing for the
last two years? We've been working out
who runs the show. We couldn't see the

actual orders of course, but you might be

aware that Liv is a little handy with a
PC. She actually managed to get a few
bits of software piggybacking on your
system, while you two were still
together, so between that and my basic
Alpha access, we've been able to build a
pretty accurate picture of the way
information in the group flows."
I felt a glimmer of hope, the tiniest
hint of light at the end of the tunnel. "And
you think it comes from me?"
Trey nodded. "Until a few weeks
ago, we had it narrowed down to three.
You, Simon, or Charlie. At that point we
decided it was more effective to just
ask. After giving the others a little

more... incentive to tell the truth, they

still denied it. Which just leaves you. I
have to admit, I was pretty pissed off
when you managed to find Sophia the
first time. That set us back several
weeks. Not to mention Ewan's little
stunt." He gestured to the room around us
and smiled. "But I guess it all worked
out in the end, and that's what counts."
I let my shoulders sag a little,
trying to play along. "And what do you
get out of all of this?" I asked Liv.
"Oh, my aspirations aren't nearly
as grand," she replied. "Revenge will do
me just fine. I'm so glad it turned out to
be you. We had our suspicions, even
from the start, but we couldn't rely just
on those. Now we get to take care of

everything all at once. It's so much

neater this way."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then we kill both of you, drag
you over, and swipe your thumb on the
scanner anyway." Her voice was ice
cold.
"So why not simply do that to start
with?" I asked. "Save yourself all this
hassle?"
Liv's expression twisted even
further. "I'd rather you were alive to
watch it happen."
She'd obviously intended to sound
like she was talking about the downfall
of Alpha, but the way her eyes narrowed
fractionally and darted to Sophia as she

spoke said it was more than that. I

suspected that the moment I gave them
what they wanted, Liv was going to have
Trey shoot her in front of me and let me
watch her die. My group and my girl in
one single move. The ultimate payback
for the pain I'd caused her.
Judging by the expression on
Sophia's face, she realised the truth as
well. Whatever flimsy mask of selfcontrol she'd been maintaining so far had
crumpled. She looked absolutely
terrified. My mind was madly scrabbling
for a way to let her know that we weren't
totally out of the game. We were only
going to have a tiny window of
opportunity and I needed her to be ready,
but anything I said would tip our hand.

And then it came to me.

"You promise you'll let her go?" I
asked.
Liv smirked. "Cross my heart."
My death, on the other hand, was
apparently a given, but I'd anticipated
that the moment I walked through the
door.
I nodded slowly and began moving
over to the computer terminal. Trey
followed, gun trained on my chest.
"Don't try anything clever. I'm going to
bring up the root Alpha portal, and
you're going to swipe your thumb for
access, then back away. Understand?"
"Yep."
He opened the program. "All

yours."
I reached out, and then paused with
my thumb over the pad. "You know this
is really sweet," I said, gesturing
between the two of them. "A real
Cinderella story."
A look of confusion crossed both
their faces, but I wasn't really paying
attention to them. I was staring at
Sophia. For a second, she looked
perplexed too, but then her eyes lit up as
she recognised the safe word she'd
picked the first time we were together.
Bingo. I tried to draw a line between her
and the floor with my eyes, and she gave
a tiny nod. It would have to be enough.
"Whatever. Get on with it," Trey
said.

I took a deep breath, and pressed

down.
And the room was plunged into
darkness.
There were two brief cries of
surprise, and then the crack of gunfire,
but I was already diving to the right.
Unfortunately I wasn't fast enough. Heat
exploded through my arm and I stifled a
scream. It was just a graze along my
bicep, but it hurt like hell, and blood
was already seeping through the ragged
slash in my sleeve. I forced the pain
away. I couldn't think about that now. If I
went down, so did Sophia, and that was
not an option.
A few more bullets slammed into

the darkness around me, one passing

close enough that I could feel the wind
of it on my face. I scuttled along the
floor, fumbling blindly for the edge of
the desk and pulling myself around it. I
hadn't been sure it would work. I'd heard
rumours about what happened when
someone without authorisation tried to
log into the central database, but nobody
had ever been stupid enough to try. As I
understood it, the whole system, lights,
door locks, computers, was now locked
down, and an alert had gone out over the
network. In a few minutes, Alpha would
be showing up here in force. Of course
we still had to survive until they arrived.
For a moment I thought that
perhaps Sophia hadn't understood my

message, but a split second later there

was a loud crack, the sound of wood
splintering. She'd thrown herself to the
ground.
"What the hell, Trey?" It was Liv's
voice, and there was a tremble running
through it now.
He let out a howl and fired blindly
again. "We checked everyone. It had to
be you. It had to!" He sounded as though
he was talking mostly to himself.
There was a distant commotion
outside. No doubt Trey's guards were
trying to leap to his defence. But with the
system down, all doors into this room
had sealed themselves. They weren't
getting in any time soon.

Trey had gone quiet now,

apparently realising that sound was
everything when you were fighting in the
dark. Sophia, however, was still
audible. Judging by the noise it had
made, the chair had broken when she
fell, but she still had to extricate herself
from the remains. If I didn't distract
them, it wouldn't be long before they
found her.
It was incredibly disorienting
being in pitch darkness. My mind's eye
knew roughly where I'd landed, but with
no point of reference I felt lost, like I
was swimming in a sea of nothingness. I
groped behind me where I thought the
bookshelf should be, but all I snatched

was empty air. I could still hear Sophia

struggling to my right somewhere.
"Trey?" said Liv again.
"Quiet," he hissed. His voice had
moved now. It was in the centre of the
room. I was running out of time.
Finally, my hands found something
solid, the leather spine of a book. I
slipped it from the shelf as quietly as I
could and then hurled it towards where
I'd last heard Trey. I don't know if I
struck anyone, but there were two
startled screams as the book collided
with something, and another bullet
zinged into the furniture to my right.
I threw several more, sliding softly
along the ground, never staying the same
spot. Judging by the yelp of pain, at least

one of my projectiles hit its mark, but it

wasn't enough. At best I was just
delaying them by a few moments. Trey
had stopped firing now, knowing the
muzzle flash gave him away. I debated
simply charging the area where I'd heard
him cry out, but I doubted he was staying
in one place, either. All that would do is
make me an easy target.
I wracked my brain for a way to
locate him in the darkness. His mistake
had given us a chance, but he still had
the advantage. He was armed and I was
wounded. Even through the endorphins
flooding my brain, my arm was burning
like crazy. It wouldn't kill me, but I was
already feeling woozy and light-headed.

I needed to end this soon.

I fumbled through my pockets
looking for anything that might give me
an edge. Keys, wallet, phone.
Phone.
And just like that, something
clicked into place in my head.
Burying it beneath my jacket, I took
a moment to steady my quivering thumb,
then I swiped the screen. I had to be
quick. I was shielding the light as best I
could, but in the pitch darkness it could
still give me away. Fortunately, on this
unit I only had one number in my
favourites list. Sophia's.
I mashed the call button, then
locked the screen once more, stuffing it
into my pocket to hide the noise. Trey

had used her phone to text me just half an

hour earlier. I hoped to god he was still
carrying it.
After a few agonising seconds, I
was rewarded with a chime just a few
meters to my left. It was one of those
abrasive, pre-programmed ringtones,
and it sounded impossibly loud in the
blackness. Someone gasped, and I
prepared to charge towards the noise,
but then another gunshot rang out.
For a moment, I was overcome
with confusion. Trey had the only gun,
and the shot hadn't come from the same
place as the call sound. But then Liv
spoke, and I understood.
"What?" Her voice was soft, but

full of disbelief, the phone still ringing

by her side. There was the sound of
something heavy dropping to the floor.
Trey let out a long shriek, and the
pain of it was nearly enough to pin me in
place. In spite of everything they'd done
to us, and the years I'd already thought
her dead, I still felt a burst of anguish
myself, knowing that she'd been shot. But
this was my opportunity, and Sophia's
life still hung in the balance. I had to act.
I launched myself into the
darkness, hurling my body towards the
source of the cry, praying that he was
frozen in shock. My shoulder contacted
something soft, and there was a grunt,
and then we were tumbling to the
ground. I wrestled blindly for his arm

and two more shots sprayed into the

darkness. The sound was loud enough to
set my ear ringing. I was bigger than he
was, but I was injured, and he was filled
with the mad fury of a man with nothing
left to lose. My wound was like fire,
spreading all across my left side, as I
wrestled him for control of the gun.
Sophia must have removed her gag. I
could hear her calling to me now,
desperate and frightened, but I didn't
have the oxygen to reply. Every ounce of
me was going into this fight.
Somehow, I pulled myself on top
of him, wrapping my hand around his
fingers and twisting, sending the gun
skidding off into the blackness. He

clawed at me with his free arm, snarling

wordlessly, but with his body beneath
mine, my superior weight came into
play, and I managed to keep him at bay.
But it wouldn't last. I could feel myself
tiring.
With one final surge of energy, I
forced my way through his guard, seizing
his hair and pulling it up before
slamming his head back onto the floor.
His body went limp.
And just like that it was over.
As the adrenaline faded, the rest of
the world came back into focus. Sophia
was still calling for me. "Sebastian?
Please, answer me."
"I'm okay," I replied hoarsely. "I'm
okay."

She let out a little sob. "I thought

he'd shot you. I didn't understand what
was going on. Are they...?"
"I don't know." Dragging myself
off Trey, I reached out to check his
pulse. He was alive. I suspected I'd just
knocked him unconscious. I turned
towards where I'd heard Liv fall,
searching for any sounds of life, but the
darkness stayed silent. I couldn't bring
myself to try and confirm it. I'd already
felt her death once. "I think we're safe," I
said.
"What about them?" she asked, and
I realised I could still hear the faint
rattling of Trey's men trying to break
their way inside.

"These doors are deceptively

strong. We'll be fine in here until the
cavalry arrives."
I searched until I found the gun. It
was unlikely Trey or Liv would trouble
us again, but I wasn't taking any chances.
By the time I reached her, Sophia
had shed the rest of her bonds. She was
shivering and, as she burrowed into me,
I ran my hand up and down her arm,
despite knowing it wasn't the cold that
chilled her.
"What happened there?" she asked.
"With the lights I mean? One moment I
was sure we were dead, the next you
were signalling at me, and then
everything just went crazy."

"They had the wrong guy."

"So you're not the leader?"
I shook my head. "Nope."
She actually laughed. It was a tiny
sound, but glorious too, and it seemed to
release something inside me. "Then who
the hell is it? Because I have to say, I
was pretty sure it was you, too."
At that moment, there were several
gunshots outside. Sophia tensed.
"It's okay. That'll be the good
guys."
The door opened, and in stepped
Joe, flanked by several guards.
"Well, aren't you two a sight?" he
said.
It took her a few moments to

understand. "No. Way. You're in

charge?"
Joe grinned in amusement. "That's
perfectly ridiculous, Sophia. After all,
I'm just a driver."
But she wasn't having any of it. She
turned to me. "Does that make you
second in charge?"
"What happened to letting me keep
some secrets?" I replied, but I kept my
voice light. There was little reason to
hide anything at this point.
Soon, the room was swarming with
people. Once it had become clear how
stacked the odds were, The Syndicate
soldiers outside had thrown down their
weapons and surrendered. We hadn't
lost a single man.

Trey was still out cold, but

nonetheless his stretcher was escorted
out by an entire team of our best guys. I
wasn't sure what exactly would become
of him, but I was certain it wouldn't be
pleasant. In our laws, the only crime
worse than trying to kill a fellow brother
is trying to hurt the group itself, and he'd
committed both to extreme levels.
Liv, on the other hand, wouldn't
have the chance to be punished. Trey's
bullet had taken her through the neck,
nicking an artery, and she'd bled out,
there in the dark. I couldn't even stomach
to look at her body. My mind was still
reeling from discovering she was alive.
Dealing with her death for a second time

was the last thing I needed.

At some point, while everything
was being dealt with, Sophia slipped
away. I found her sitting on alone, on a
stool, in the crumbling old bar at the
front of the complex.
"This is where it all started," she
said as I approached. "If I hadn't snuck
through the door that night, all of this
would have played out differently."
I nodded. I'd never believed much
in fate or destiny. The idea of having no
control over my life terrifies me to my
core. But it was hard not to feel the
divine hand of providence in all of this.
How else could I have found the soul
that so perfectly matched my own? The
person that healed the wounds I'd thought

were beyond repair?

"Do you regret it?" I asked. "That
night?"
One side of her mouth curled up.
"Not even for a second."
Part of me thought that made her
crazy, but it was exactly what I needed
to hear. I pulled up a stool and joined
her.
"Is it over then?" she asked.
"I'm almost scared to say yes, but I
think, this time, it actually is. We still
have a lot of cleaning up to do. I expect
once Trey tells us what we need to
know, the group will be moving against
The Syndicate ASAP. It will be messy,
but it needs to be done. With any luck,

things will be back to normal in a few

weeks."
She nodded, and for about thirty
seconds we sat in silence. "I'm sorry
about Liv," she said eventually.
I exhaled slowly. "Now that was a
surprise."
She reached out and took my hand.
"Are you okay?"
I didn't answer straight away. After
all of the betrayal and deception, and
with all of the hurdles still to come, I felt
like I mostly definitely should not be
okay. But sitting there, with her fingers
laced through mine, the worst of our
problems finally in the rear view mirror,
all I felt was a strange sense of
contentment.

"You know, I actually am."

EPILOGUE
Sophia
The period after it was all over
was a bit of a blur. Having learned my
lesson, I stayed close to Sebastian for a
few days, making sure all the loose ends
were tied up.
When we were confident it was
well and truly over, Sebastian moved
back into his apartment and I went with
him. He'd organised a crew to come
through and fix the damage to my place,
but I wasn't ready to go back there yet.

Maybe I never would be. Sleeping alone

still held a lot of terrors for me. I
doubted I'd fully get over my
experiences for some time.
Surprisingly, it was kind of
difficult to adjust to a normal life again.
After the constant adrenaline, the daily
grind felt a little muted, a little dull. I
wasn't stupid enough to actually miss all
the peril and the betrayal and the men
with guns, but there was a certain
mystique to having been involved in that
clandestine world that, in retrospect, I
could almost romanticise.
Despite the fact that we were
living together, Sebastian and I didn't get
much time alone for the next few weeks.
The Alpha Group was in turmoil over

everything that had happened, and there

was an awful lot of cleaning up to do. I
missed him. After everything we'd been
through together, that powerful sense of
'us versus the world', it felt strange to
suddenly be apart once more. But I tried
to use that time to focus on getting back
into my old rhythm. My boss was
pleased to have me back, and I assured
him that this time it was for good. A few
days later, the promotion he'd hinted at
officially came through, and I became a
senior associate. There was something
extra satisfying about the idea of not just
being promoted, but stepping into
Jennifer's shoes. I had no doubt I'd be up
to the task.

I even managed to fit in a little prehens night with the girls, which left me
with a headache to rival anything Trey
had injected me with.
"I knew that skank had to have a
secret!" said Ruth, when I filled her in
on what had happened with Jennifer.
"Yeah, talk about sleeping your
way to the top," agreed Lou.
"The worst part is that it was with
Alan," I said, suppressing a shudder.
"No promotion under the sun is worth
that."
"Well, I'm glad things are back on
track," said Lou.
Ruth's smile turned playful.
"Speaking of back on track, you hinted

on the phone that Sex-On-Legs had a

change of heart too."
I grinned at the nickname. "It looks
that way."'
"Well, that's awesome," she
replied. "If any other woman is going to
have him, I'm glad it's you."
"You never had him at all!"
Her smile widened and she tapped
the side of her head. "Up here I did."
I laughed. "I choose to take that as
a compliment."
"And so you should. Just don't go
getting any ideas about diamond rings
and screaming toddlers, like this one
here," she said, nodding to Lou, "or I
may have to disown you both."
"Oh don't be so dramatic," replied

Lou. "Once Soph squeezes one or two

out and settles down in the burbs, you
can come around on Fridays and play
charades with us!"
Ruth's face twisted in mock horror.
"I'm not sure there will be much
settling in our immediate future," I told
them. "After all, I have a partnership
ladder to climb."
In truth, I had been feeling a little
uncertain about the future, but not for that
reason. It was one thing Sebastian and I
had yet to talk about. The events of the
last few weeks had shown the depth of
his feelings for me, and I returned them
just as strongly. But now that things were
returning to normal, and the adrenaline

was fading, the reality of that

commitment was sinking in. For better or
for worse I'd fallen for a man with some
rather unique obligations, and I didn't
know exactly what they meant for us. I
had no objections about the way our life
was now; in fact, it felt a little like I was
living in some kind of dream, but was
that going to be our life forever? Were
the things Ruth joked about permanently
out of reach?
All I knew was that I loved him
and wanted to be with him, and I figured
we'd work it out as we went along.
A week or so later, Sebastian
surprised me with another trip to Mi
Casa. It was every bit as warm and
welcoming as I remembered, with

several waiters I only dimly recognised

welcoming me like an old friend. The
food was incredible again, and since I
knew what was coming, I buzzed with
anticipation for the entire meal.
As the plates were cleared, and the
music started, Sebastian stood and held
out his hand. "May I have this dance, my
lady?"
This time there was no hesitation.
"Certainly, sir," I replied with a giggle.
We danced for what felt like hours,
our bodies slowly igniting each other
with sensuous rhythm. I half expected
him to pull me aside again, to relieve the
tension, but much to my disappointment,
he restrained himself.

Eventually, he guided me to the

edge of the crowd, and then towards the
door. I didn't have to ask where we were
going.
It was much warmer outside than
the last time he'd brought me here, and
even up on the headland, utterly exposed
to the elements, there was only a soft sea
breeze. We settled on the grass, just a
few metres from the cliff's edge, and
nestled against one another, gazing out
over the dark water.
"This really is a spectacular
view," I said.
He nodded, but didn't reply, his
brow slightly furrowed in
contemplation.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

He blinked several times, then
turned to me, his lips curling into a
smile. "Everything is perfect." He
planted a kiss on the top of my head. "I
do want to talk to you about something,
though."
"Oh? Let me guess. Thomas has
gone rogue and is hunting us even as we
speak!"
He laughed. "Not quite." His
expression slipped to something that
almost looked like nervousness. "I was
hoping you'd like to make our living
arrangement permanent."
"For real?" We basically were
already living together, but nonetheless,

the formal acknowledgement was a big

step.
"For real," he confirmed. "I love
knowing that I've got you to come home
to every night. I want to know that I've
got that forever."
The word 'forever' sent a warm
tingle rolling through my chest. "You
make me sound like a kept women," I
replied. "What about the nights where I
come home to you?" I was going for a
little sass, but it was somewhat ruined
by the sickly sweet smile I couldn't seem
to wipe off my face.
He chuckled. "I love those, too."
I made him sweat it for a few
seconds, but the truth was he'd had me
from the moment he opened his mouth.

Hell, he'd had me almost from the

moment we met. There was no want left
in our relationship now, only need. I
needed him like I needed air, and I
couldn't imagine going home to a house
without him either.
"Of course I'll move in with you."
He let out a long breath and his
face lit up like a Christmas tree. "That's
what I wanted to hear."
"Although I have to say, Ruth's
probably going to have an aneurysm. I'm
the last domino standing, and I have no
doubt she'll see this as a sign that the end
is nigh."
"The end?"
"You know, marriage, kids,

impractically fluffy pets. To Ruth that

stuff is the end."
He laughed. "I see."
"No pressure from me these
hips won't be passing any little bundles
of terror for at least a few more years
but if you plan any more big changes,
give me a little notice so I can ease her
into the transition, okay?"
His expression lost a little of its
amusement. "Well actually, there is one
other thing I wanted to mention."
"Oh?" I said cautiously.
There was a long pause. "I quit."
Something shifted in my stomach.
"Quit? What do you mean quit? I thought
that wasn't allowed."
"Well, maybe that's not quite the

right word. Rather, I asked Joe to fire

me."
"He can do that?"
Sebastian shrugged. "He's in
charge. He can pretty much do what he
wants. Call it a perk of knowing the
boss."
"And he was okay with it?"
Sebastian gave a surprised little
smile. "Yeah. He actually seemed happy
to do it."
I shook my head slowly, trying to
come to grips with what he was saying. I
couldn't deny that the idea of having
Sebastian all to myself filled me with
joy, but I didn't want that at the expense
of his happiness. "Wow. I appreciate the

gesture, Sebastian, but are you sure? I

mean, we're doing okay now, aren't we?
Things don't need to change."
"I'm not worried about the ninety
nine percent of the time things are going
fine," he said. "I'm worried about the
one percent that they're not." There was
pain on his face now. "Everything that
happened recently has made me realise a
few things. I'm not sure I'll ever trust the
group like I used to. Those men are my
friends, and they'll remain that way, but
they also swim in dangerous waters.
You know that as well as anyone." He
took one of my hands in his and raised it
to his mouth, brushing soft kisses across
each knuckle. "Maybe nothing like that
will ever happen again. But I'm not

willing to risk it. I'm not willing to risk

you."
The look on his face, the
fierceness, the fire, the love, it rippled
through me. But still, this felt like too
much. "I don't know, Sebastian. I mean,
this is who you are, this is what you do.
It may not make for an ideal relationship,
but we can make it work. I never
expected you to give up your life for
me."
"This isn't me giving up my life,
Sophia," he said. "This is me beginning
it."
I could only shake my head and
grin like an idiot as my heart melted into
a puddle in my chest. "Well, how can a

girl argue with that?"

He pulled me in for a kiss and, for
a while, I lost myself in his lips. There
was a strange sensation blossoming in
my chest, one that took some time for me
to recognise. Hope.
He was right.
Everything was perfect.

A Little Bonus
Thank you so much for reading. I
hope you enjoyed the story. Writing this
series has been an amazing journey, and
I have each and every one of you to
thank.
From the day I started writing The
Alpha Group, I had two endings in mind.
I wound up choosing the one you just
read, because it makes the most sense in
terms of how I saw the characters
behaving. But the other one is a lot of fun
to think about, and I didn't want it to go
to waste, so I decided to write it

anyway. If you want to see how Sophia

and Sebastian's lives could have been,
all you have to do is sign up to my
newsletter here (or just go to my
website, http://mayacross.com, and click
'newsletter'). Once you've confirmed,
you'll receive an email with a link to the
bonus scene. I'll be releasing several
bonus scenes exclusively to my email
list over the coming months. I am also
planning to start a monthly gift voucher
giveaway for my mailing list fans, so
there's lots of reasons to stay in touch! I
promise not to share your email with
anyone else, and I won't clutter your
inbox (I'll only be mailing when there's
something important like a book launch
or sale).

Also just a friendly reminder that if

you did like the story, the best way you
can show thanks and help me keep
producing more work is to leave a
review on the site you bought from. You
don't have to compile an epic three page
analysis; even just a single line and a
star rating helps. Anything that lets other
people know you enjoyed it. It's a little
thing, but it makes a big difference to
writers like me.
Thanks again!

About the Author

Maya Cross is a writer who enjoys
making people blush. Growing up with a
mother who worked in a book store, she
read a lot from a very young age, and
soon enough picked up a pen of her own.
She's tried her hands at a whole variety
of genres including horror, science
fiction, and fantasy, but funnily enough, it
was the sexy stuff that stuck. She has
now started this pen name as an outlet
for her spicier thoughts (they were
starting to overflow). She likes her
heroes strong but mysterious, her
encounters sizzling, and her characters

true to life.
She believes in writing familiar
narratives told with a twist, so most of
her stories will feel comfortable, but
hopefully a little unique. Whatever genre
she's writing, finding a fascinating
concept is the first and most important
step.
The Alpha Group is her first
attempt at erotic romance.
When she's not writing, she's
playing tennis, trawling her home town
of Sydney for new inspiration, and
drinking too much coffee.
Website:
http://www.mayacross.com
Facebook:

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